The Legend Begins
by ChocolateSyrup
Summary: Sequel to Solstice Sun. Raising children can be tough. It gets even more difficult for Po and Tigress when it seems that the Dragon Warrior has unexpectedly passed down a certain fiery trait.
1. Chapter 1

_SURPRISE! I'm still not done with this series, lol! I got this idea soon after finishing Solstice Sun and it just wouldn't leave me alone, so I had to do it. I think this really will be the last though, so enjoy it while you can and I hope you enjoy it just as much as the other three :) I suggest reading Eternal Flame, The Fire Within and Solstice Sun first if you are new so things make sense!_

 _Baba: Chinese for "daddy"_

xxxx

Po loved mornings. He loved how fresh they felt, how he could look forward to whatever the day was going to bring next. He loved to wake up and see the love of his life sleeping next to him in their own private room that Shifu (surprisingly,) the Furious Five and even his dads had helped set up for them. It was all theirs at the Jade Palace, and they could go here whenever they wanted to or needed space—and they needed a _lot_ of space nowadays.

He'd woken earlier than usual, and Tigress along with him by accident. Thankfully, she seemed to be in a forgiving mood.

"What's wrong?" She questioned. She could always tell when something was wrong no matter how hard he tried to hide it.

Po had already come up with an explanation. It wasn't really a lie, either. While he was finally back where he belonged in his own time, he was still having trouble with getting used to it all. It _had_ been a very long time, and though it was _his_ time, he was still experiencing a bit of culture shock by going from one time to the next, that he truly _hadn't_ lost everyone he cared about.

He attempted to pull off the most serious look that he could muster without breaking eye contact with her, though every muscle in his face strained.

"I had this crazy dream. I was stuck in my dragon form and had to go to sleep for a thousand years. I woke up in the year 2016 where I met your descendent and he showed me TV and electricity."

He continued staring at her without blinking. He really hadn't taken his eyes off of her ever since he had returned to his time—too afraid that if he looked away, she would disappear for a thousand years again. It really _hadn't_ been a dream, but Tigress didn't know that and she never would.

She laughed. When Tigress laughed, it was music to his ears; it wasn't every day that she laughed, but she was laughing more and more as time went on. He guessed that it had something to do with the fact that they were married now and had two kids.

One of which started crying.

"I'll get him," Tigress sighed. Before she could roll over to get up, Po placed a paw on her shoulder.

"No, I got this. You go back to sleep."

She smiled her thanks, rolling back over to the other side.

It was usually Chao who was the loud one. Sometimes he would just cry and cry, and all Po or Tigress could do was try to calm him down by holding him and patting his back until his tears subsided. He was white with black stripes and eye patches, and he had faint black freckles around his nose with Tigress's beautiful yellow eyes; there were big and small orange spots that randomly splattered his tiny body against the white, just like his sister who had the same markings except for having no freckles around her nose and sharing her father's bright green eyes.

She lay soundly in their crib, and Po reached in to take out her brother quietly as he was able so as not to disturb her sleep.

"Hey little guy, it's okay," Po soothed the best that he could with Chao over his shoulder, patting the baby's back gently.

Chao. Po still thought of the other Chao every day—the Chao that _his_ Chao was named after, the Chao who had been Tigress's descendent and had helped introduce him to 2016. They had started out in the Forbidden Zone—the place where the Jade Palace had once been but was destroyed after he had gone to sleep—and then had showed him the wonders of TV and electricity like in his 'dream' that he'd told Tigress.

Then there was Lotus who he also couldn't forget, and who his daughter was named after. Lotus who had been Chao's adopted brother, who had somehow managed to change him back into a panda after he had been _sure_ that he was stuck in his dragon form.

But now that he had the ability to switch between his panda and dragon form at will and he didn't have to go back to sleep since returning, Po made sure that the bandits and anyone else who wanted to try and take over the Valley learned their lesson. It didn't take much—all he had to do was change into a massive, golden dragon to scare them off, and word quickly got around that there was a real, live dragon protecting the Jade Palace. While it was actually pretty entertaining, he was going to make sure that the Forbidden Zone never came to be again.

His daughter was still sleeping soundly in the crib, though her brother was sure to wake up the entire palace with his crying, something that Shifu wouldn't be happy about and would probably never get used to.

"Hey, hey. Can you say 'daddy?'" Po said in an attempt to distract Chao, glancing at Tigress to make sure that she was still asleep. Since the kids were just about old enough to start speaking, Po would take every chance he got to try and get either Chao or Lotus to say daddy. He was sure that whenever Tigress had a chance, she too would also try and get them to say 'mommy.' It wasn't a competition by any means, but Po was determined to have either Chao or Lotus' first word be daddy.

"Come on, you can do it!" Po encouraged Chao through the child's crying. "Say 'baba.'"

"Po, you better not be trying to get him to say daddy again," Tigress said drowsily from the bed.

"Dang it," he pouted. She always knew whenever he was attempting to get the kids to say his name first. But what he didn't notice was that Chao's crying had ceased and he had completely relaxed in his arms.

"Baba."

Po froze and his heart nearly stopped. Tigress sat up in bed, her eyes wide. He raised Chao up lightly so they were face-to-face, and Po found that he was smiling.

"Can you say that again?" Po asked gently.

Chao obliged. "Baba," he giggled, reaching his arms out as though he wanted a hug.

Po wanted nothing more than to shout with joy and run through the Jade Palace exclaiming proudly that his son had finally said _his_ name first, but the last thing he wanted to do was disturb Lotus. So he obliged himself, cradling Lotus closer to him.

Then the tears came.


	2. Chapter 2

_Thanks for all the faves, follows and reviews so far! I'm happy to see some returning readers! *waves hello* Prepare yourselves for some TiPo feels...I figured they deserve a rest after everything that happened, so this chapter is dedicated to just the two of them :)_

xxxx

Nights were even better than mornings sometimes. You could look back on the day that you made the most of with those you cherished, look up at the millions of stars that lined the dark sky and look forward to what the next day was going to bring.

There was still the utter gratefulness that he'd finally had the chance to go back home, yet there was still the uneasiness that came with going from one time to the next—and though Oogway had assured him that everything would turn out the way it was supposed to, there was still the lingering guilt of changing the past, and it didn't help that he had no one to talk to about that particular subject.

The uneasiness washed away as Tigress joined him to sit outside under the stars. Po could still remember the smog that had taken over the skies in the future, and he was glad that it was gone now. Looking up, he was filled with wonder, yet he felt so small and vulnerable.

Shaking the feeling away, his heart leapt with joy as Tigress joined him at the cliff's edge. It was a new place that he'd found in the Valley one day that he had never been to, and so he'd wanted to share it with Tigress; it had soon become their own private and special spot that no one else knew of, and where they would go whenever they wanted to be alone on a perfect night like tonight.

"You think my dad will be okay watching the kids?" he asked with a knowing grin; they had left Li to look after Chao and Lotus for the night.

"I'm sure he'll be fine. They love him and it's already close to their bedtime." Her tone was certain, but her unsure expression failed her.

Now it was Po's turn to ask. "What's wrong?"

"That dream you told me about this morning...was it really a dream?"

Po's eyes widened. She couldn't be remembering...could she? No one but him remembered their alternate future lives; he wasn't even sure if Oogway himself remembered—the tortoise had been clear that their memories of the future would be erased. "What do you mean?"

"I'm not sure...it's just...when you told me about having to go to sleep for a thousand years, the strangest feeling came over me—a terrible sadness that maybe I really _did_ have to be apart from you for a long time at one point...it was so strong and I—I was afraid..."

He was shocked to see a stray tear escape down her cheek, and his stomach dropped. She wasn't remembering, but there were still the leftover and heartbreaking feelings that they'd had to endure while saying goodbye to each other and being separated for so long.

"Hey, hey, listen. It was just a weird dream that I had," he comforted. "Dreams can be super random sometimes. I probably shouldn't have told you."

"No, I'm glad you told me...we don't keep anything from each other. Right?" Her expression hardened and Po knew that he had to reply fast.

He nodded quickly, an idea crossing his mind. Maybe it would help her feel better...

"Want to go for a flight?"

She blinked, his words sinking in slower than normal. Had she heard right?

"What?"

"Come on, I'll take you," he prompted, nodding out over the cliff towards the starry sky.

Flying?

The last time she had flown with Po, they'd gone to the Spirit Realm to see if Master Oogway had known anything about why he had been turned back into a dragon so unexpectedly...and then the dragon had completely taken over and attacked both her and their master. She'd never really thought about flying with him again just for the fun of it; they could never truly find time to set aside just for themselves with no work or kids like tonight. It was a very rare occasion indeed, and so she smiled at his suggestion to go for a flight.

He took her smile as a yes. Though his transformations were quick and simple with only a green flash, they amazed her every time.

In the blink of an eye he was a dragon. He bent down to her level so that she could climb aboard. Once she was sitting safely on his back, he grinned and took off from the edge of the cliff.

It wasn't long before he could feel her smiling, enjoying the ride. He soared as close to the moon as he could get, her fur ruffled coldly by the sharp wind. But she didn't mind; it was simply beautiful. The strange feeling washed away, her worries disappearing. She leaned forward and wrapped her arms around his neck so that he would know just how happy he was making her not just because of his ability to fly, but because they were together as if there was no one else in the world but them. Po's heart thudded as he felt her touch and he let out a loud roar that shook the sky itself.

"Show off," she murmured playfully with a small laugh. Po simply smiled and rolled his eyes at her comment.

He landed back on the grassy hill, kneeling so she could slide off and he could switch back to his original form.

"Wait! Don't change."

He remained in dragon form at her request, surprised but holding still as she moved forward and reached an arm out to caress his shiny body. He lay stock still as she ran a paw over his golden scales, closing his eyes and rumbling quietly in pleasure at her soothing and gentle touch. While she could not feel physically, she could still sense his strength and power just from a simple touch.

"...What's it like? To be able to switch back and forth at will?"

His eyes still shut, he explained. Ever since returning, he'd found that he could communicate with her through his mind while he was in dragon form just like she'd been able to in the Spirit Realm, and just like he'd been able to just before falling asleep...but she didn't remember _that._ It had become a natural way of communicating for them whenever he transformed, and it was only the two of them who could understand each other; anyone else who was around and didn't know that a conversation was going on would most likely think that she wasn't all there.

 _It's...amazing. Back when I couldn't control it, I was afraid. I was afraid I would hurt someone; I was afraid of my powers and myself._

"How did you learn to control it?" She'd always wondered. Ever since Po had returned from saving the world, he seemed to have magically figured out how to change between a panda and a dragon.

Po knew that he couldn't tell her the full truth. It had taken him a thousand years to be able to control his dragon half the way that he could now. It had taken Kai's accusations and hurtful words to spark a raging fire deep within him that had triggered his first willed transformation. In a sort of scary way, he had Kai to thank for his new ability, and Tigress had no idea that the yak's spirit had made the universe immortal.

So he had come up with a reasonable explanation in case Tigress or anyone else would ever ask him just how he managed to learn to switch between forms whenever he wanted.

 _Remember when I let the dragon take over before going to save the world?_

She nodded.

 _I just...accepted it. I allowed the dragon to take over, to trust that it knew what to do. We became one like you said I had to, and I trusted that the dragon would allow me to change back after it was all over. I've been able to switch ever since._

His words sent shivers down her spine, leaving her speechless.

He curled up close to her, wrapping his tail lovingly around her body to bring her against his chest. Though she could not feel physically, she could instantly feel warmth, and the safest that she had ever felt in her life. If someone had told her strict, hardened past self that she would one day marry and have children with a chubby panda who would take the Dragon Warrior title away from her, she would never in a million years have believed their words and would have called them crazy in the head.

But as crazy as it seemed, now she just couldn't imagine her life without him. She couldn't remember what her life was like _before_ she had met him. She held onto her dragon with all the strength that she had, listening to the steady rhythm of his heartbeat until her eyes became heavy and she drifted off into a peaceful sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

They found Li with the kids the next morning in their room, just where they had left them the night before. The only difference was that Li was lying belly-up, and Chao was curled into a ball on his stomach in their bed while Lotus had found a warm and cozy sanctuary under one of his arms.

Po had to stop himself from laughing; Tigress frowned at the sight, glancing towards the crib where the kids _should_ have been sleeping. Under no circumstances were they ever allowed to sleep with mommy and daddy. They would cry and try to get attention, but no matter how much Po wanted to let them sleep in their bed as an entire family, Tigress had objected; they needed to learn that they wouldn't always get what they wanted. She or Po would get up to calm them, of course—but otherwise they stayed where they were.

"Psst. Dad," Po whispered so as not to wake the kids. Li opened his eyes, blinking wearily until he could see better.

"You two are back," he grinned. "How was your night off?"

Tigress, despite her annoyance that Li had broken the rules about having the kids sleep with him, smiled as she recalled the night before and how Po had taken her for a flight amongst the stars. Li groaned slightly and attempted to get up, taking her smile as a yes—that their night off had gone well.

Po reached down to grab Chao, Tigress following suit to grab Lotus. The two bundles remained sound asleep, much to their relief.

"Thank you for watching them," Tigress said gratefully. "I take it your night went well?"

Li nodded. "Oh, yeah. They were a little scared without mom and dad, but I got them to calm down. He told me not to tell you this, but Shifu came in to play his flute. I think they liked it."

Po grinned at the fact that Shifu had actually gone in to help Li; of _course_ he wouldn't want them to know what a softie he really was. Besides, who could resist two adorable little panda-tiger cubs? Maybe one day they would even call him Uncle Shifu; he was perfect for the role of the cool uncle.

Chao squirmed in his arms, his bright yellow eyes flickering open.

"Hey, daddy's home," Po cooed, gently patting his back.

Chao's expression lit up as he recognized that yes, his father was home.

"Baba," he babbled, snuggling his face into Po's chest. The Dragon Warrior's heart warmed, and he wondered how he could have gone an entire night without his newborn son and daughter, though he had to admit that a night alone with Tigress all to himself was worth it, especially since it was something that didn't happen too often now that they had Chao and Lotus to look after.

"I think it's time for breakfast," Po figured aloud, reaching to grab a milk bottle from beside the bed. Before he had become a father, training would have started by now, especially since he was a teacher. But since Tigress had given birth, Shifu had gone easier on the two of them; more proof that he was a softie deep down.

Li smiled as Po began to bottle feed his son, heading towards their bedroom door. "I'll leave you to it."

Tigress smiled her thanks again, cradling Lotus in her arms. She had just begun to wake, shivering and burying herself into her mother's chest just as Chao had done with his father.

"There you go, little guy," Po praised softly as he held the milk bottle steadily for him to eat. Chao sucked on the bottle, the milk slowly disappearing into his tummy. When he was done, a milk mustache had covered the black freckles around his nose.

Tigress frowned when Lotus refused her own bottle. "She's not eating..."

"Maybe there's something wrong..."

It was hard to ignore a cough and a bubble that came out of her nose.

xxxx

She had a fever, and a high one. He and Tigress had done everything they could to try and bring it down, but nothing was working—the fever remained the same, if not worse. The healer that they'd brought in hadn't been much help, and Tigress had all but thrown her out when a simple, grave expression told them that there was nothing more to be done, that she had never seen a fever like it before and that Lotus most likely wouldn't make it through the night, much to their horror.

"Maybe I could try and use Chi to help her..." Po murmured, deep in thought as he stared at his daughter resting in the crib while Tigress held her brother to keep him away from the sickness. Though Lotus was far from resting—the fever was making her delirious, and she was crying as loud as she possibly could through the pounding rain and thunder that flashed outside.

"When you were sick without your Chi," Tigress said, holding Chao closer to her. "Li told me a story about how you were sick when you were just a cub."

"Did he say anything about how I recovered?" Po questioned, hope sparking in his chest. If he had recovered from a terrible sickness when he was young, then there was a good chance that Lotus would recover, too.

"No, he said that they did everything they could...just like us. But they didn't know how to use Chi back then, so maybe it really _could_ help..."

She looked like she was about to burst into tears at the thought of losing their daughter in one night. Who wouldn't? Po glanced back at Lotus, then placed a paw on his wife's shoulder, giving her the most comforting and determined smile that he could. They weren't going to lose their daughter that easily; he would make sure of it. He wouldn't take one look at her and say that it was over.

Po knew that he had to ask her permission first before he went through with it. "Do you trust me?"

Tigress stared at their crying daughter in the crib, then back to Po. Of course she trusted him; she trusted him with her life, and their daughter's life. There was no one else that she would ever trust more with using such a technique to heal their baby girl. But if he did this, there was also the chance that something could happen to _him_ if he used too much. She took a deep breath, knowing that he would be careful.

She nodded, and Po moved closer to the crib. "Take Chao out of here."

Nodding once more, Tigress opened their door to wait outside with Chao. The Furious Five were waiting along with Li and Shifu. Even Mr. Ping had come to make sure that his granddaughter was somehow going to make it through the night.

Li was just as horrified as the others as he was stolen back to a time when Po himself had barely survived a grueling fever, but Tigress sent him a reassuring expression that it wasn't over yet, that Po was doing the best that he could to save their daughter.

The Dragon Warrior closed his eyes. He concentrated and relaxed, tuning out Lotus' wails that felt like an attacker punching him in the chest. He reached an arm into the crib, settling his paw gently as he could on her forehead. He breathed in and out slowly, preparing to filter his energy into her. His paw glowed a bright gold, and he grunted as he merged his Chi with hers; he was horrified to find that it was dimming, just like his Chi had almost gone out after flying at top speed around the world not so long ago.

He continued to concentrate nonetheless, reaching deeper into Lotus' soul. Heart hammering, he could feel her pain and distress caused by the fever. He gasped at how it had nearly taken her under already, that she was hanging on by only a thread. He took hold of the thread before it could completely disappear, wrapping his Chi around it until he was sure that it was strong enough for him to let go. Her crying had quieted and her tears had subsided, and Po could feel her Chi strengthening again. Feeling her forehead, he found that it was no longer burning to the touch.

Ready to let go, he loosened his own Chi bit by bit until he was sure that she would recover well enough on her own.

He let go completely at last, and he could hear Lotus letting out a quiet sigh of relief. He released a sigh himself, tired from the work he had done but satisfied; she was going to make it. They wouldn't lose her so quickly during the night like they had feared.

"Come in," he said as a knock on the door sounded, keeping his eyes trained on Lotus to make sure that she was faring well without the help of his Chi. In that moment, he made a promise to himself that he would never be away from his children for an entire night again, no matter how much he and Tigress needed time by themselves. He should have known that something was wrong with Lotus with how quiet she had been that morning compared to her brother.

"It wasn't your fault," Tigress whispered into his ear after she had entered the room, leaving Chao with Li and Mr. Ping in case the room was still contaminated with sickness.

"It wasn't your fault, either," Po whispered back to her reassuringly.

"We're learning," she said, wrapping her arms around his waist. She smiled in relief when Lotus opened her bright, emerald eyes and stared up at the two of them. She was wide awake, hardly the child who had been sick and suffering only moments ago.

"Yeah, you're going to be okay," Po laughed as Lotus reached her arms out like she wanted a hug.

Before he could reach in to grab Lotus gently and bring her out, he had to jump back when she unexpectedly sneezed out a small burst of fire.


	4. Chapter 4

Po stared, eyes wide. He'd managed to avoid getting singed by the small burst, but Tigress hadn't been so lucky—her ear had caught fire like a candle.

"Um...I'll just...get that for you."

She blocked his paw before he could put out the flame.

Well, he certainly hadn't been expecting _that._ Maybe a normal sneeze, but definitely not a _fireball_ sneeze. How was it even possible?

"I'm not the only one who saw that, right?" he asked, temporarily forgetting that Tigress's ear had caught on fire as he stared down at Lotus in the crib.

"Po, she caught my ear on _fire._ Of course I saw it," Tigress said as she stared at their daughter with just as much intensity.

"She just sneezed _fire!_ You don't think...she can _change_ like me, do you?" Po asked, desperate for answers and shocked and excited all at once. If Lotus could breathe fire, then there was a good chance that she also had the ability to transform into a dragon...which would be super awesome!

Lotus squealed and laughed, obviously feeling a lot better as she picked up the panda toy that Po had fixed for the other Lotus in the year 2016; he'd found that upon arriving to his original time, it had apparently gotten sent back along with him.

"We won't know for sure until she's older...I think," Tigress said slowly. She was in just as much shock as he was, and Po didn't blame her. It was something that neither of them had been expecting.

"But it can't be...I thought it was just a Dragon Warrior thing," Po said quietly as they watched their daughter play.

"A spiritual thing...I thought the same," Tigress agreed.

But they were wrong.

"I used my Chi to help her fever go down...do you think that could be the reason?" He'd merged his Chi with hers, which might not have been the best idea. But they had no other choice and his Chi had saved her life!

Tigress thought hard, trying to come up with a reasonable explanation. "Po, if she can breathe fire and has the ability to change into a dragon like you, then that might have been the reason why her fever was so high. Your Chi helped to bring it down, and then she took care of the rest as we saw."

It all made sense!

It had _never_ been a spiritual thing or a Dragon Warrior thing, and they knew that now—Po had passed down his dragon powers _naturally._

"What about Chao?" Po questioned as he tried the best that he could to contain his excitement, unfortunately failing. Tigress could tell just how excited he was at the fact that their children were possibly able to transform into dragons by how jittery he was; he was practically jumping three feet in the air already.

"It's too soon to tell," Tigress answered. "My guess is that they are slowly just beginning to develop these powers, and your Chi caused Lotus' to activate earlier."

She herself didn't know what to think. She was confused and shocked all in one, hardly expecting something like this to happen today. But as Po reached in to take Lotus out of the crib and give her a cuddle and a look that had love and pride written all over it, she knew that she loved her children all the same, just as she loved and accepted Po for who he was no matter if it was a dragon or a panda.

All that mattered was that their daughter was going to make it. She was going to live, and she needed both her mom and dad.

"She's going to be okay," Tigress laughed softly in relief, placing her chin on Po's shoulder and smiling down at her happy and healthy daughter.

xxxx

"You seem nervous, Dragon Warrior."

"Me? Nervous? Why would I be nervous?" Because the Dragon Grotto was where he'd had to _fall asleep for a thousand years._ Just standing in the cave was making him nervous, and apparently it was very noticeable. Shifu had called him here for important news, and so he couldn't have really refused.

"A new enemy has threatened to invade the Valley," Shifu stated. "He calls himself the Dragon Slayer."

Po had to do a double take. "Dragon Slay—as in...he kills _dragons?_ There are others like me?"

"Pure dragons, perhaps, though they have not been seen for thousands of years."

Po took a deep breath—there was the word thousand again; it was doomed to haunt him for the rest of his life. But the news that real dragons existed had piqued his interest.

"I do not know of any other creature who is able to change back and forth at will like you can, Dragon Warrior."

 _Except maybe my kids._

Shifu continued. "This 'Dragon Slayer' has threatened to come and slay a certain golden dragon that protects the Valley of Peace."

Po gaped. This couldn't be happening...what had he done to get on this guy's bad side? "Why would he want to kill me when I'm protecting the Valley?"

"There are some who view dragons as beings who bring peace, and others who view them as evil and a threat. He is apparently the latter, and wants to bring honor to his people by killing the famous Dragon Warrior."

Po gulped. This was worse than he'd thought...

"Does he know that I'm actually a panda?"

"He may not know that you possess two forms—one a panda, the other a dragon, and that you have the ability to switch between them both at will. I am unsure what he sees you as."

"What should I do, Master?"

"Be careful and on the lookout. You cannot just scare your enemies off with a simple transformation, anymore. Until things die down, you need to lay low and stick to the usual kung fu."

The usual kung fu—meaning that he could no longer change into an insanely awesome fire-breathing dragon. _Darn._

xxxx

From what they knew so far, Lotus had the ability to change into a dragon like he could, and only time would tell if Chao had any of the same powers. He hadn't passed down his dragon powers through his Chi like they had originally thought, but naturally. Po knew that whenever he transformed, he turned into a real dragon, not a dragon made of Chi like in the Spirit Realm.

"We'll get through this together," Tigress told him gently as they watched Chao and Lotus wrestle on the floor atop a soft blanket that they had put out.

Po let out a quiet laugh as Lotus bit on his ear and Chao pushed her away. She stumbled backwards right into his lap, and he managed to catch her just before she was able to fall over. They would soon be old enough to start walking, and Po couldn't wait to watch them take their first steps towards him...or Tigress. Since Chao had said his name first, Po figured that he would go easy on their mom for the walking round.

Chao and Lotus had the privilege of sleeping with them that night, snuggled comfortably in between mom and dad. In that moment with images of a Dragon Slayer running through his mind, Po made a vow that he would protect his family with all he had...even if it meant using his dragon side.


	5. Chapter 5

One of the hardest things Tigress had to do in her life was leaving her children to go on a mission. She and Po were to leave the next morning, and no matter how hard the Dragon Warrior tried to convince Shifu that they couldn't leave their kids, the red panda was firm on his order for them to go and help find survivors and tend to the wounded in a far off village that had recently been attacked and mysteriously burnt down. The village was low on resources, so they had to bring food and water as well as medicine.

"It would be so much easier if we could just fly there," Po had tried to sway their master. "I change into a dragon, we fly and get this stuff to them faster!"

"And risk you being seen by the great Dragon Slayer?" Shifu countered. "Not a very good idea, panda. You have a family to think about now."

"Then why are you making us leave them? If I just change and get to the village, we can be back sooner!" It didn't make any sense! Neither he or Tigress wanted to leave the kids alone in the palace. Well, they wouldn't be alone—they would still have Li, Mr. Ping if he wasn't too busy and Shifu himself _plus_ the other pandas—but it was still hard to leave them alone without mom and dad, especially since they were just beginning to walk. His staff was also not an option; while it had the special ability of transportation if one concentrated, Po doubted that it could send all six of them—including all the bags filled with the necessary items—to the village and back. They didn't want to risk losing anything in the process, so they were forced to travel by foot.

"The children will be safe in the palace with us," Shifu said as comfortingly as he could, though he could tell that it wasn't working.

"And what if the Dragon Slayer comes here?"

"There wouldn't be a dragon for him to slay, would there? He would not have a reason to attack the palace."

Po turned away from his master, letting out a frustrated sigh. He knew that he couldn't argue any further with Shifu.

"You still have duties as the Dragon Warrior," he reminded him. "We count on you to pull through with those duties, and you cannot just go to this village and then leave. These people need you."

 _Thanks for the reminder._

It wasn't that Po didn't want to help—he really did. He knew that there were people out there who needed the Dragon Warrior's help.

It was just so hard having to leave behind his son and daughter.

xxxx

"Don't worry, we'll take good care of them," Li said gently as Po, Tigress and the Five had everything packed and ready to go.

Po was still tempted to just change into a dragon and take off with the luggage, but he decided against facing the consequences that such an act would bring.

The group was standing on the edge of the Jade Palace steps, preparing to head off on a long journey. Po stared out into the distance—if he squinted, he could see a bit of dark smoke that billowed out into a large cloud.

 _What could have caused such a big fire?_ he couldn't help but wonder. His attention was brought back to the others when he felt a soft and light tap on his leg. Glancing down, his heart melted when he saw his daughter asking to be picked up.

He obliged, bending over so he could give her a hug.

"I'll be back as soon as I can, Little Lotus," he said sorrowfully. She whined, her grip on him tightening as he attempted to put her back down. Li gladly took her in his arms, sending Po a reassuring smile.

Tigress was having an equally hard time with Chao. He wouldn't let go of her, and Tigress didn't want to let go of him. But like the Dragon Warrior, she knew that she had duties to the people around her, especially when they were in need like the people who needed their help in the destroyed village.

"We can play together!" Bao said in excitement at the thought of having two cubs to play with. Tigress smiled and nodded at his enthusiasm; Bao and Lei Lei both had been very good sports about giving the kids some new friends to play with so that they would be used to other people.

Tigress reluctantly handed Chao over to Li; he had no problem with carrying two frisky cubs.

"I'll be back soon," was all she could say. She'd known that this day would come—the day when she would have to leave on a mission. Once the kids were old enough, Shifu had been firm that things would carry on as normal, that they would have to get used to mom and dad going away every now and then.

They couldn't just stop doing their jobs because they were parents now.

xxxx

The village was a wreck. They'd arrived after three days, and they hadn't been sure what to expect after such a big fire.

It had been anything but this.

There was debris everywhere. Houses had caved in and there was the smell of scorched wood and ash, causing Po to cough upon entering.

"What happened?" Mantis had to wonder as he and the Five walked through the torn village.

It was nearly empty, but there were still a few residents trying to clean up and salvage what they could; it was then that Po realized he just couldn't have come to drop off the items and then leave. These people needed them, just as Shifu said.

"It was horrible," they heard a voice say suddenly. Turning, they saw a shaken little bunny cowering underneath a fallen, dirty and blackened beam. Tigress immediately went to go help him, lifting the beam effortlessly so that he could get out from under it.

But the poor bunny didn't move, remaining cowered on the ground. Tigress put the beam to the side and knelt down next to him for at least some comfort as he told his story and relived the terrible moment.

"T-they w-were huge," he stammered, blue eyes wide as he glanced frantically this way and that; his main focus was on the sky above them. The Five glanced up along with him to see if anything concerning was there, but only white smoke trailed off from the destroyed houses.

"What was huge?" Viper questioned gently so as not to scare the bunny further.

"There were these huge creatures," the bunny explained the best that he could. Tigress reached into a bag for a bottle of water that he could drink, and he nodded thankfully as he sipped. "They were just _HUGE_ and breathed fire, they set everything on _fire—"_

"Wait, creatures that were huge and breathed fire?" Po asked, eyes wide. Huge and breathed fire...they'd known that the village had been under attack, but not by who. A few days earlier, Shifu had warned him about a Dragon Slayer that had threatened to invade the Valley. He had an inkling of what creatures that the bunny could possibly be talking about; he was suddenly glad that he hadn't turned into a fire breathing dragon after what the village had gone through.

But it wasn't possible! Shifu had said that these creatures hadn't been seen for thousands of years...

"Po, what is it?" he barely heard Tigress ask. Her voice was firm but worried as she watched his expression turn from confusion to fear.

It was starting to come together, and it was then that he heard it: a little voice scream in the back of his head, and he was sure that it wasn't just his imagination. It was a real voice flowing through his mind like whenever he would talk with Tigress as a dragon.

 _Daddy!_

It was Lotus.

Snapping his head backwards, Po was absolutely horrified to see fresh, black smoke rising in the far off distance.

The Valley of Peace was under attack.


	6. Chapter 6

_Fun fact: in the Chinese Zodiac, the dog is the dragon's mortal enemy._

xxxx

Crane was the first to scream in all their shock as their eyes rested upon the billowing smoke.

"You guys go!" he shouted to Po and Tigress.

Po looked back at the damaged village, surprised to find that he was somewhat reluctant to leave. He'd just gotten there after all, and now he was leaving just like Shifu said he wasn't allowed to do. But this was an emergency!

"We'll take care of things here," Viper reassured him as he looked to Tigress to see what she wanted to do. Of _course_ she wanted to race back to the Valley of Peace; no matter how well Shifu and the pandas were probably handling the situation, their children were in danger!

Po didn't have time to get back to the village entrance so its inhabitants wouldn't be frightened of his second form. In a flash of green, he switched instantly from a furry, black and white panda to a scaly golden dragon. The bunny that they'd found underneath the fallen beam flinched and his eyes widened even bigger than they already had been, indicating that he must have seen _another_ dragon already.

"Wait!" he called to Po as Tigress leaped onto his back quick as she could. They couldn't waste any time; every second counted, and every second was a risk that something was happening at that very moment to their family.

Po turned back to face the bunny. He cringed again, his expression fearful of the gigantic dragon before him.

"He said he was looking for you, Dragon Warrior," the bunny informed. Po blinked at the new information. Well, it wasn't entirely _new._ He'd known thanks to Shifu that there had been a so-called Dragon Slayer on the hunt for him. "His name was Longwei."

"Po, if we go back there now," Tigress said from atop his back, her grip on his shoulders tight, "he'll see you and he'll..."

 _Kill me?_ Po said through his mind to hers. _I've had a bunch of bad guys trying to kill me before, and none of them actually did. I can handle this guy, and so can you._

Tigress nodded. She knew that Po could handle himself, especially now that he had the form of a dragon. Not that he couldn't before, but enemies tended to just take one look at him and run nowadays, and she had a bad feeling that this Dragon Slayer—Longwei—wouldn't be so easily intimidated by said dragon.

 _I'm ready,_ he assured her once again before he bent down to launch himself into the fading sky.

xxxx

The Valley of Peace was—once again—a mess. Villagers were scattered everywhere, running for their lives from a big flame that was scorching a part of the forest nearby. Looking up, Po sighed in relief to find that the Jade Palace was still standing. They'd arrived sooner than three days as Po had predicted that he would in dragon form—it had, thankfully, only taken them a few hours to return with his speed in the sky.

He spotted Li among the frantic crowd and his father spotted his large form just as quick, racing towards him and Tigress.

"The kids are safe," he panted, "they're at Ping's with Shifu. The palace was completely evacuated."

"What happened?" Tigress demanded as she assessed the damage around them.

"I don't know," Li admitted. "There was just this huge fire that started out of nowhere in the forest, and we've been trying to stop it from spreading to the palace!"

Po glanced at the trees that surrounded the area. Like Li had said, they were burning to the fullest; if they didn't stop it soon, the Jade Palace would be destroyed once again for the second time since Kai's arrival.

What he didn't expect next was to see a shadow move out of the corner of his eye.

 _Tigress,_ he said to get her attention, bending down so that she could easily slide off his back. _You go with my dad and help with the fire. I'm going to check out the palace and make sure that no one's been left inside._

"Are you sure?"

 _I have to check something out._

xxxx

The palace was empty and dark. He thought about changing back into a panda just in case the Dragon Slayer truly _was_ around, but he stuck to his dragon form; he couldn't just allow the Dragon Slayer to get away with this so easily. He couldn't just submit and show any fear or submission!

There was the shadow again on the walls, and he was positive that it moved! He growled, sniffing and searching deeper into the barracks. While he was huge in dragon form, he could still just barely fit through the hallways that had been rebuilt for his entire family when Shifu had first allowed them to stay.

He came across his children's room, and nudged the door slightly ajar with his nose. The kids were gone, thankfully safe at Mr. Ping's. Shifu was there along with his dad, and he knew that no harm would ever come to them there. He must have heard Lotus scream in his mind when the fire had broken out and the palace had been evacuated.

It looked like no one had been in their room since the evacuation except for one thing: his staff was gone.

In a flash, he changed so he could fit inside. He searched and searched, desperate to find it—but the staff was _gone._ He hoped that it was only Shifu who had taken it, but he had a bad feeling that it hadn't been Shifu.

xxxx

The shadow was gone. He hadn't been able to find anyone, and so he ventured back outside to see if the others had any luck with putting out the fire.

But just before he could reach Tigress and the fire, a new voice made itself known.

"Hello, Dragon Warrior."

Po whirled around, coming face-to-face with...

The first thing he noticed was that the Dragon Slayer was a dog.

He was a dog—a reddish-brown dog. A Chinese Chongqing, if Po remembered right from different scrolls that he'd read over the years; it was a rare type of breed that was hardly ever seen. He had ears that stood up straight, and he wore a black vest with a small mark of a golden Chinese dragon in its center that looked just like him—maybe it really _was_ him...he wouldn't be surprised, especially if this was the infamous Dragon Slayer.

The second thing Po noticed was that he had his staff.

"You can call me Longwei," the dog said casually, like he hadn't just stolen something that wasn't even his in the first place.

"...Hey," Po said, already suspicious because of the staff. Wasn't Longwei the one that the bunny had told him about?

"So you're the so-called Dragon Warrior, hmm? I never expected such a big, fat panda to have the honor of such a title."

"I'm not a big, fat panda," Po shot back. _I'm THE big, fat panda._ "Uhh, you kinda have my staff there..."

"I found it on the ground along here...it must have been dropped in all the frenzy from the fire. I just assumed that it belonged to the Dragon Warrior, if you could tell me where he is."

"Po _is_ the Dragon Warrior," Tigress said firmly, approaching Po from behind. She was back from the nearby forest fire that left the setting sky dank with black smoke—Li was still back there with others who were trying to stop the fire—she'd seen Longwei approach and like Po, had instantly become suspicious. She'd never seen a dog in the Valley of Peace before.

She knew that it probably wasn't a good idea to say so, but it seemed that Longwei had no idea Po could switch between forms.

"Well, I just thought that the Dragon Warrior would actually be a _dragon."_

Maybe she'd thought wrong. Was he egging Po on to see what he would do?

Po's fists clenched.

She reached an arm down. "Po, don't," she warned, gripping his paw tightly. She knew what he was thinking—that he wanted to transform, and she knew that _he_ knew it was a stupid idea to do such a thing in front of the Dragon Slayer himself.

But Po paid her no mind. The Dragon Slayer had nearly destroyed the Jade Palace—now he was being insulted?

His blood boiled. He told himself to calm down, that it wasn't worth it.

"You're no Dragon Warrior," Longwei snorted in a laugh. "But maybe you've seen another dragon or two around? I've heard that there's a great, golden beast protecting this place."

Po shook his head.

"Well, I've also heard about the Dragon Warrior's offspring. A little boy and a girl, am I correct?"

Po was too stunned to say anything, Tigress included. She gave Longwei a glare, silently warning him to knock it off.

"I could take them off your hands," Longwei offered. "It's too dangerous for them here...you never know what could be _flying_ around."

Tigress growled.

Po couldn't help it, just like when he couldn't have helped it when Kai had sparked his first transformation. Insulting him was one thing, but threatening his kids was another.

Letting go of Tigress's paw, he concentrated on his dragon form. It only took a split second before he was a huge, scaled reptile once again. He growled and charged at Longwei, who only gave him a smirk; he was completely unfazed.

There was a sickening _snap_ as the Dragon Slayer broke the staff in half.

Po's eyes bulged and a searing hot pain flared through his chest. He remembered the first time that he'd snapped his staff in half by accident, and how he had fainted to the floor in his room. He remembered how in the future, Chao and Lotus had assumed that he'd gotten sick when they first met because Lotus had lost his staff and he was connected to it somehow—he knew then that their theory was right.

Green flashed and Tigress could only watch in horror as he changed back to a panda, falling down to his knees with shock etched into every inch of his pained expression.

She caught him just before he could hit the ground, gripping him tightly in her arms. He was lying still with his eyes clamped shut, and Tigress would have feared the worst if she hadn't been able to see him breathing.

The Dragon Slayer grinned. He'd had no idea that breaking the staff would cause such pain to the Dragon Warrior—he'd just wanted to break it before he could have taken it back—but it was a nice surprise. He brought a paw up to his mouth and used it to let out a whistle. Before Tigress knew it, a winged beast flew down out of nowhere and the Dragon Slayer jumped onto its back with scarily accurate precision before she could even think to chase after him.

There was an ear-shattering roar, and Tigress was doubly horrified to see a second winged beast _—another dragon—_ take off from the direction of Mr. Ping's shop with a little shape screaming and struggling in its talons.

She wanted to scream, to run after it, to shake Po awake so he could try and catch up by using his flight...but it was no use.

Chao was gone.


	7. Chapter 7

Everything was blurry as he opened his eyes. He blinked and he could see an orange and black shape sitting next to him on a bed—Po realized that it was _his_ bed in the Jade Palace. Tigress was the one sitting next to him, and he could tell that something was wrong by the way her expression strained.

...Had she been _crying?_

"Ugh, what hit me?" he asked with a groan, trying to sit up. Tigress forced him back down to the bed by using her paws on his shoulders, and so he had no choice but to comply and lay back down.

"Tigress?" he tried, becoming more and more nervous by the second. Something wasn't right. "What is it? What happened while I was out?"

She had something in her paws—upon second glance, he could see that it was his staff. He could remember Longwei snapping it in half, and then dropping to the floor. The staff was mended, pieced back together—but when he took it gently in his own paws, it was still very fragile, bending a bit when he grabbed it around its middle.

"We tried fixing it the best we could," Tigress said in a mumble. Her voice sounded hoarse and dry—another sign that she'd been crying.

"Tigress, what's wrong?" he asked again, a little more firmly so that she would know he needed an answer.

Her only answer was a nod towards the crib, and Po turned his head slowly in their children's direction.

Well, only _one_ child.

"Where is he?" Po asked in a whisper.

"Longwei took him, Po," Tigress nearly sobbed. He could tell that she'd been holding it in all the time he'd been knocked out, but now that he was awake and she had to tell him, it was tearing her apart. "He's gone. Chao is _gone."_

No. _No, no, no!_ It wasn't true! Po glanced quickly in the direction of the crib for a second time just to be sure, but the only thing that he could see was their daughter.

She was the only one in the crib.

Just like his staff, his heart snapped in half right then and there. He wanted to be knocked back into unconsciousness. Chao had been kidnapped by a lunatic, and it was all his fault.

"He had dragons, Po," Tigress said wearily as she followed his gaze. Lotus was sleeping, curled up into a ball with the panda toy cuddled warmly against her. "Two of them."

"...Why would a dragon slayer have two dragons? Isn't he supposed to kill them?" Po questioned, entirely confused.

"He trained them, Po," Tigress explained. "He called them by whistling, and they both answered. One of them had Chao."

Po frowned, the thought of his little boy trapped in the claws of a huge dragon nearly making him sick.

"They weren't like you," Tigress told him softly. "They looked bigger, and they had wings. I think they were responsible for the fire, Po. They just took off with Chao..."

Po had no idea what to do except comfort her with a hug. She leaned into his body, freely releasing extra tears that poured mercilessly down her fur.

The dragons had started the fires in that village and here in the Valley of Peace. The village fire had been a diversion, a distraction so that Longwei could get the Furious Five away. A thought crossed his mind that if the Dragon Slayer could train two massive dragons to bend to his will, the thought horrified him what he would do with Chao if he found out that their son possibly had the ability to change into a dragon. Po knew that the possibility was high; Chao's powers were most likely developing slower than his sister's, as he had helped her by using his own Chi.

A small knock sounded and interrupted his thoughts. Tigress had fallen slack in his arms, too tired from sobbing her heart out to hold herself up any longer. He carefully laid her gently on their bed, making sure that it was comfortable enough.

"Come in."

It was Shifu. No matter how hard he had probably tried to hide it, he looked just as worse for wear as Tigress with bags under his eyes.

"I'm sorry..." he started slowly. "I should have known that it was a trap. I never should have sent you away. If the Five had been here too, then maybe..." Shifu trailed off, unable to finish. He knew that he'd had a big part in Chao's kidnapping by making him leave the Valley, but Po didn't see it that way. His master wasn't the one to blame.

"I don't blame you, Shifu...Longwei would have taken Chao whether or not you had us go to the village."

Shifu blinked, surprised. He nodded respectfully and then left the room just as soon as he had entered.

xxxx

Tigress was suffering from too much heartache. She was strong, but her fire was slowly dying and going out. He stayed up all night searching for the past week. He could still transform, but his dragon counterpart was weak; he couldn't take off into the sky. He scoured the surrounding mountains, forests, _everywhere._ He yelled out his son's name as a panda and wailed desperately as a dragon, trying hard to send out a telepathic string that Chao could latch onto and let him know where he was.

There was no reply.

 _Please Chao, please,_ Po begged, waiting for a response. An image of where he had been taken, maybe. His staff was a dud as he tried to picture his son in his mind, telling it to take him to his little boy, but ever since Longwei had broken it, the staff's teleportation powers appeared to have died altogether.

Silence was the only answer. While Po knew that by merging his Chi with his daughter's, he had activated her 'dragon powers' earlier. Chao was most likely still developing his, and so he couldn't—wouldn't—know that he had the power of telepathic communication with his parents, and probably not even when he would grow up.

The thought made Po sick—the thought that there was a chance he wouldn't get to see his son grow up.

It was going to be a _big_ chance if he stopped searching.

So he kept it up for another week, and another even when the search party had given up and Tigress had snapped at him that it was useless, soon after breaking down and saying that she hadn't meant it.

He hadn't seen them, but according to Tigress, Longwei had two gigantic dragons at his disposal that had appeared to listen to his every command, and one of those dragons had taken Chao.

 _Where would I go if I was a dragon?_ Po asked himself over and over. But he _was_ a dragon, right? Half dragon, at least. He thought and thought, searched and searched until every muscle in both forms were screaming at him to stop, and even then he didn't let up. He just couldn't think of anywhere that a creature that had just made itself known after thousands of years would go; he couldn't think of anywhere that they might have come out of hiding from.

"We're going to find you, Chao," he promised in an exhausted whisper as he collapsed on the edge of the cliff that he had found earlier—his secret spot that he'd found for himself and Tigress that only they knew about.

All Po knew as he fell into a restless sleep was that when he found the Dragon Slayer and his dragons, Longwei was going to pay.


	8. Chapter 8

"Daddy, time to get up!"

"Five more minutes, Tigress. Please?"

"I'm not mommy!" a bright and happy voice giggled.

Without warning, Po felt a warm and furry bundle pounce on his belly. It jumped up and down and when he opened his bleary eyes, he could just make out the shape of his daughter jumping up and down on his puffy stomach.

"First day of school! First day of school!" Lotus shouted cheerily.

Po made a mock frown. "Hmm. Are you sure that's what day it is?"

"Yes!" Lotus cried. "Come on, let's go!"

"I don't know...are you _really_ sure that's what day it is?"

"Daddy!" Lotus grumbled, though she was unable to keep a grin off her face.

"Alright, alright," Po gave in. "I'm up. Come here, you," he said with a grin that equaled her own, grabbing Lotus by her middle to give her a raspberry blow on her tummy.

"Don't mess up my dress!" she squealed in laughter.

Finally getting up from the bed much to her excitement, Po could see that Tigress had already helped her get ready for the day ahead; she was wearing a pink dress with a pink flower on the top of her head to match her namesake.

"Let's get going," he agreed, to which the little cub ran in response to the door.

xxxx

Po carried Lotus down the Jade Palace steps on his shoulders. While he was a teacher of Kung Fu, he wasn't a teacher of general learning, so he and Tigress had made the decision to enroll her in a normal school for kids her age. Tigress knew that it would also be good for her to learn a bit of independence from them both in case something were ever to happen—they still had to fight their enemies on a daily basis, but ever since that fateful day when Chao had been taken, Shifu had loosened up a lot on their missions. Still, she wanted her daughter to learn that she couldn't be with her parents every hour of the day.

Some people stared as they walked through the Valley of Peace on the route to the school. Lotus was a strange sight to behold; a mix of a panda and a tiger with white and black like her father and stripes like her mother. If not for her orange patches that splattered her little body, she would have looked like a normal white tiger with a straight tail. Since that wasn't the case, Lotus was an odd spectacle for those who were not used to seeing children from two different types of parents, though some of the villagers came up with bright smiles and who Lotus greeted with a smile just as bright.

"Aw, she's so cute," they cooed, which Po and Tigress appreciated. The two ignored the others who would only stare.

"Are you okay?" Po asked Tigress as he noticed her getting lost in thought; he had a faint idea of what she could be thinking about.

Tigress nodded lightly. "I just wish that he..."

Po took her hand, knowing just who the 'he' was that she was talking about: Chao. She wished that Chao could have been able to come to his first day of school, too.

"I know," he said softly in return. He felt the same way, wishing that Chao could have been walking alongside the both of them and Lotus; one happy family. They _were_ happy, of course...but there were times when Tigress would just stare off into space, and it was during those times that Po knew she was thinking of Lotus' long lost little brother who had been taken from them at such a young age, and who they had never found.

"No talking to strangers," Tigress told her daughter as they finally began to get closer to the school, distracting herself from thinking of Chao any longer—it hurt too much. Her nerves were getting the better of her; what if Lotus didn't fit in? What if someone tried to take her like they had taken Chao? She couldn't bear the thought of losing her daughter, too. There was also the fact that she had an odd assortment of powers that she couldn't really control yet. What would happen if her powers suddenly had an episode that she couldn't control?

She and Po had debated sending her to school for that very reason, but in the end had decided that it wouldn't be a good idea to hold her back from learning all she could. From her lessons with Shifu before he had adopted her, Tigress had passed on what their master had taught her about learning control when she herself had been a cub at the orphanage.

Po had also given her a chant that she could say if she ever found that she couldn't control her actions: _inner peace, inner peace, inner peace_ which was very easy for her to remember.

"I know, mommy," Lotus confirmed about the no talking to strangers rule, staring down at her from Po's shoulders with a comforting smile. "I'm not allowed to talk to anyone that I don't know," she recited.

Po clapped his praise. "That's right."

It was a long walk, but they finally made it. It was a school that Po recognized—the school where he had taught an introductory to Kung Fu to a group of bunny children, telling them the stories of the Furious Five and how they had started learning kung fu themselves. Class was just beginning to start, so Po and Tigress couldn't linger for long with the other parents who were just as reluctant to leave their children behind.

"Are you sure you're going to be okay?" Po asked Lotus, reluctant to leave his daughter. He knew deep down that she would be okay with all the kids and the teachers around, but he was still nervous.

Lotus nodded frantically, eager to catch up to her classmates as they filed into the school. "I'll be fine, daddy!"

"Hey hey, come give your mom and dad a hug," Po caught her before she could run any further. Lotus groaned, but happily snuggled into her parents as they knelt down to her level so she could reach them easily. "Can't we just walk her inside?" Po nearly whined.

Tigress shook her head. "Let her go to the kids on her own. She'll figure things out."

Lotus broke free from their hug, racing after the kids who were heading inside the room.

xxxx

The class had a break after introduction time, and they were given the opportunity to mingle and play with each other out front in the schoolyard. Lotus was a little nervous without mommy and daddy, but she soon saw a group of kids talking with each other in a corner, and curiosity had gotten the better of her. She could remember mommy's rule of not talking to strangers, but she recognized the students from class.

She inched closer and closer, seeing that it was a group of different cubs. They were all different animals, but she didn't know what any of them were exactly.

"So what are you, Cheng?" Lotus heard one of the kids ask. 'Cheng' was a red, black and white animal with fluffy fur.

"I'm a fox! And...what are _you_ supposed to be?" he asked with a scowl as Lotus approached slowly.

Lotus thought about what to say, excited to make a new friend. "Well, my daddy is a panda and my mommy is a tiger. So I think I'm both?"

Cheng chuckled. "Both, huh? Do you know what that means?"

Lotus shook her head; she had a bad feeling and didn't like where he was going.

He stepped forward with a stomp, causing her to take a step back. He laughed.

"You're nothing but a _mixed breed,"_ he sneered.

She didn't know what that meant exactly, but she knew enough to know that it was bad—and it hurt her feelings. Her lower lip trembled, and Cheng only laughed a second time. He stepped forward again and threw his arms out, pushing her directly to the floor. Lotus yelped, landing hard on her back and getting mud on her pink dress. She scooted away, trying to avoid another hit from the advancing fox.

"Look at her cry," the other kids laughed. "She's so little and stupid."

It was then that something inside her flared. She just couldn't understand why they were being so mean to her!

She growled. _Inner peace, inner peace, inner peace,_ she told herself just like what her daddy had taught her, and what would always help to calm her down when she got upset.

But before Cheng could come any closer, she shot a paw out at him. Claws extracted longer than normal, and before she knew what was happening, Cheng had been flung backwards onto the ground himself.

"Ow! It _burns!"_ he cried on the floor, instantly backing away from her.

"I'm sorry!" she said in a panic, trying to get closer to him so that she could see what happened; he only backed away further. She glanced down at her paws, confusion and fear written all over her face. She tried to get to Cheng to check his cheek, but he continued to back away in a hurried motion.

"Get away from me, _freak!"_ he screamed at her, covering his charred face with a paw.

She halted, then started to back away. She ran in the other direction, not caring where she was going except away from the school. Away from the bullies and the one who had hurt her feelings, and who she had hurt in return without even meaning to. She wasn't like him; she would never hurt another person! She ran and ran until she couldn't run anymore, panting and out of breath as she stood by a small pool of water—a little pond. She dropped to the floor, tears streaming down her face as she sobbed.

 _I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry,_ she repeated over and over to herself. But even though she was sorry, she knew that Cheng was never going to forgive her. He was never going to be her friend in the first place, and certainly not after what she had done to him.

What was going on? Why had she burned his face? She was _never_ going back to school. Never, never!

A noise suddenly distracted her from her thoughts, and she turned to the trees...only to see nothing.

But she'd seen _something,_ she was sure of it. It had been a big, black shape over by those trees!

Rumbling sounds could be heard, and they shook the trees around her. Her breathing quickened but she continued moving forward, determined to prove to at least herself that a 'mixed breed' wasn't afraid and was good for something unlike Cheng had said.

That is—until she came face-to-face with a huge, black and white creature with bright, yellow eyes.


	9. Chapter 9

Lotus backed away slowly, unsure of what to make of the creature before her. It was black with white patches, and it had bright yellow eyes with faint white freckles around its nose. It was really big, _so_ much bigger than her.

But somehow, she wasn't afraid—she didn't know why, but she felt that she could trust him. She remembered her parents' rule of no talking to strangers, but she felt like she _knew_ this dragon.

Looking behind her, she could see that the school was no longer in sight and no one else was around, not even the students and teachers.

She was completely alone with the strange creature in front of her. She'd never seen anything like it before in real life, but her daddy had told her bedtime stories and had shown her pictures of...dragons? Was it really a dragon?

"Hello..." she said slowly, curiosity getting the better of her. She took a step forward and jumped when the dragon growled and took a step back just as quick. Lotus noticed that it had something strange around its neck, and it didn't look very comfortable. The creature looked hurt, and she didn't like it when others were hurt. "I'm Lotus," she introduced herself shyly. After her incident with Cheng the fox and his burned cheek, she was hesitant to try and take off the weird thing around its neck for fear that she would burn him, too.

But she remembered a part of her daddy's stories about dragons, and how they were able to breathe fire; maybe she wouldn't hurt him, after all. So she continued inching forward anyway, reluctantly reaching her arm out so she could rest it on the dragon's nose. Before she could get any closer, he snorted and she jerked back a bit when he growled, clearly a sign that he was warning her to stay away.

"I'm not going to hurt you," she tried to reassure him. Her attempt was unsuccessful as the dragon growled even louder, pawing at the ground in a charging manner. Still, Lotus wasn't afraid. She wanted to know why she felt the way she did—like she _knew_ him. She also wanted to get that ugly thing off of his neck because it looked very painful. "I just want to help."

The dragon snorted again, his expression steely and hard as he stared her down.

She was only less than an inch away when suddenly out of nowhere, a roar shook the trees around them and a golden blur jumped in between her and the dragon before she could finally rest her hand on his nose.

"Daddy?" she questioned, eyes big and round. She'd known the story of her father the Dragon Warrior, and how he had the power to switch from a panda to a dragon—but she had never seen him transform until now...

And it scared her.

xxxx

Po's heart stopped.

He stared.

His eyes grew wider than they had ever been before as recognition zapped through him like a lightning strike. This dragon wasn't one of the two that Longwei had used to kidnap his son all those years ago.

No, because it was...

 _Chao?_

He knew it was Chao, it _had_ to be. How many other black and white dragons were there that had yellow eyes like Tigress?

It was his baby boy, but he wasn't exactly a baby anymore—he was too _big._ Po guessed that dragons grew faster than normal cubs, but he was also a normal cub, wasn't he? He'd thought that Chao's powers would have come in late unlike Lotus, but he'd thought wrong—Chao must have transformed a long time ago, and had gotten stuck in his second form.

Po had to do a double take as he took in the sight before him. The first thing he noticed was that Chao had an assortment of different scars that littered his body, which churned his stomach. The second thing was that he had something wrapped around his neck—the same type of cuff that had held Tai Lung—the eight-point acupressure cuffs, and what Shen's army of wolves had used to make him and the Five surrender.

 _The more you move, the tighter it gets,_ Po thought to himself in horror. _What did Longwei do to you, Chao?_

He was standing still, staring back at him with a dark gaze and bared teeth like he was expecting Po to jump right at him.

 _I don't want to fight,_ Po said, sending his words to Chao's mind.

Chao only continued to stand in place, staring back at him with no indication that he'd heard his father speak.

It was then that Po realized Chao couldn't understand him.

He couldn't transfer his thoughts! He could remember going out every night to try sending a telepathic link to his missing son but no matter how hard he'd tried, he could never get a response; it seemed now that Chao had lost all form of communication mentally and verbally, if Po was right. He hoped that he wasn't.

The dragon growled once more, struggling against the painful cuff around his neck when he made just one simple move and it squeezed. Chao screeched, shaking his head and rubbing it along the ground to try and remove the cuff—but every move he made only made the pain worse, and by that time it was practically choking him.

 _Let me help you,_ Po said even though he knew that Chao most likely couldn't understand a word he was saying. _I can take it off._

Chao rumbled in a whine. Then he bent down into a take-off position that Po knew well; he was going to fly away!

 _Chao, wait! Come back!_ Po screamed as his son took to the sky faster than he could think.

He didn't listen. Looking behind him, he could see that Tigress had finally caught up and was cradling Lotus protectively in her arms like she wasn't about to let her go anytime soon.

"Go," she told him, pointing in the direction that Chao had gone, her eyes fearful and wide yet bright at the thought that they had seen their son, that he was actually alive.

Po bent down in his own take-off position, leaping into the sky. He zoomed after Chao quick as he could—but Chao was even faster. It was hard to keep up, but Po was determined not to let him out of his sight.

 _Chao, please,_ Po tried to communicate again. The dragon ahead didn't listen, only picking up speed.

It seemed that Po had followed him for miles before Chao finally started slowing down at last. Looking around him, Po realized that they weren't anywhere near the Valley of Peace; it wasn't anywhere that he had searched all that time ago. There was a big mountain ahead, and Chao suddenly shot in its direction faster than an arrow, assuming that he would lose the other dragon following him.

Po halted and lingered in mid-air, watching in shock when Chao dove right into the mountain's top—an open entrance—a _volcano._

He debated following Chao inside the mountain for a moment, then turned back. He turned back no matter how loud his heart was screaming at him to follow, to get to his little boy that he hadn't seen for so long and bring him home. But he knew that he had to return to the Jade Palace. He couldn't just follow a dragon headfirst into a volcano; who knew what was in there?

But he knew where Chao was now. He knew where his son had been all these years, and now that he knew, he could go back after telling Tigress and getting help.

xxxx

The crib had been replaced with a bed that was perfect for her size, and she was starting to fall asleep already.

"That was your brother, Lotus," Tigress explained to her daughter as they recounted the day's events together. Tigress was on her knees, ready to tuck her in with Po sitting beside her.

"...My brother?" Lotus asked, tilting her head to the side. "The one you always told me about?" No _wonder_ he had seemed so familiar!

Tigress nodded, a faint smile crossing her expression. They'd found him. They'd finally found him! "Yes. He was taken from us a long time ago."

"By a stranger?" the little girl asked nervously.

Tigress nodded again.

"But he was a dragon," Lotus said, wrinkling her nose in confusion. "Like daddy." She glanced at Po, and he was shocked to find that she looked _afraid_ of him.

"I would never hurt you," Po comforted. "I just had to protect you."

"You'll turn into a dragon too one day," Tigress let her know. She knew that it probably wasn't a good idea to tell her daughter this after such an exciting day, but she had to know sooner or later...and sooner was better, especially now that she had seen her father change. What better time was there?

Lotus snuggled deeper under her blankets. "What do you mean, mommy?" she whispered fearfully. "I don't want to be a dragon."

"Honey, when you hit Cheng today...did it burn his face?"

Lotus yelped in surprise that her parents knew about that incident, hiding herself ever deeper under the blankets. Tigress, however, gently reached under and pulled her out so they could see her face.

"Is that why it burned him? Because I really _am_ a dragon?" she asked in a whisper, her little body shivering.

Po and Tigress glanced at each other, then back to Lotus. She needed to know the truth, and she needed to know now.

"Yes," Po said, more firmly than he wanted.

"Lotus, why did you hit him?" Tigress asked. She just couldn't believe that on the first day of school, their daughter had hit another student.

She paused, trying to blink back tears. She didn't want to tell her parents why she'd hit Cheng! "...He called me a mixed breed," she finally answered so quietly that they almost didn't hear.

"I know he hurt your feelings, but violence is never the answer," Tigress said.

"I know, mommy. I'm really sorry! I'll never do it again!" she sobbed, tears streaming down her face. She was just as tired as them as the day had gone from hitting Cheng to finding Chao, and they knew that she had to get some rest soon.

Her next question surprised them both. "Daddy, what am I? I don't know if I'm a tiger or a panda...or a dragon...or all of them at once?"

Po thought. He'd asked himself the same question once, before finally proclaiming to Kai in the Spirit Realm that he was the Dragon Warrior. "Well, you can be whatever you want to be, sweetheart. I don't know about you, but a Pragon sounds pretty cool."

Lotus giggled as Po ruffled the fur on her head. He smiled.

"Goodnight, little Lotus."

"Goodnight, daddy," she whispered back.

Po made his way towards Tigress. She was already in their own bed, staring up at the ceiling with an expression that he hadn't seen in a long while: determination.

"I can't believe we finally found him," she said quietly as Po hugged her close.

Po smiled. His heart sang, though the image of his son beaten and tortured wouldn't leave his mind. They'd found their son, but he was bruised and battered. He was stuck as a dragon just like Po had once been all that time ago. He came to the conclusion that since Longwei had seen him transform upon his arrival to the Jade Palace, that was when he had figured out that Chao must have the same ability, and so he had forced his son to change and remain in his dragon form.

Longwei had tortured him. That's how he had gotten the other two dragons to listen to his commands. But why hadn't they had the dreaded cuffs on back then?

 _We're going to save you, Chao,_ Po promised.

For the first time in six years since Chao had been kidnapped, they had hope.


	10. Chapter 10

"Are you _sure_ it was him?" Li pressed.

 _"Yes!"_ Po cried.

"You're _positive_ that it was Chao?" Li double checked. He had to know for sure that his grandson was actually out there!

"It was him...he was terrified...he had an eight-point cuff around his neck," Po confirmed sorrowfully.

"You think Longwei put it on him?" Viper questioned, heart aching at the thought of a little six-year-old all alone in the woods. He wasn't exactly little anymore according to Po, but he was still just a child...a child who needed their help.

"Who _else?"_ Monkey quipped.

"When we find him, I'm gonna kick him right in the—"

"Mantis! Po already knows where he is," Viper informed him quickly.

"Really?"

"I followed Chao. He went right into the top of a volcano," Po explained.

"A _volcano?_ No wonder we couldn't find him six years ago."

"We can go scope out the area, maybe even check it out inside," Crane suggested.

"Yes, but you have to be careful. Longwei could have those other dragons on guard and even with all of your training, I don't think you are ready to take on two enormous dragons."

"Thanks for the confidence booster, Shifu," the bird grumbled.

"Uh, aren't you guys forgetting something?" Mantis piped up. The rest of the Five stared. They really didn't know?

"What?" Monkey asked.

"We have a panda who can turn into an enormous dragon _whenever the heck he wants_ on our side!" Mantis revealed, pointing towards Po. The panda blinked and waved shyly.

"These dragons were a lot bigger than him," Tigress reminded Mantis. "And who knows...there could be more in that volcano."

"How are we even going to get inside the volcano when it's probably way too hot for us to go in there?" Crane asked, feeble.

"How do you think _Longwei's_ able to go in there?"

Po brought forth the only memory that he had of the Dragon Slayer—when he had first been confronted and Longwei had so boldly claimed that he was no Dragon Warrior. What had he been wearing? Po's eyes widened in realization when he remembered the golden circle in the center of Longwei's vest.

"His vest. His vest with the golden dragon emblem on it! I bet it's fireproof!"

"That would make a lot of sense," Tigress agreed. Po could tell that she was getting restless. She shifted in her sitting position every so often, and he knew that she wanted to go after their son and go after him _now._ They knew where he was and they knew where Longwei was, and so they could invade the volcano and bring Chao home.

But he could also tell she was reluctant; what about Lotus? Po knew that if she went along with him and the Five, there would only be Shifu, Li and the pandas protecting the Jade Palace. Ever since that fateful day six years ago, Shifu had been very hesitant to keep watch over their daughter whenever something came up that they had to take care of, and Po really couldn't blame him when Chao had been ripped from their clutches under his supervision.

Their master glanced at them with a look that clearly said he wasn't ready to take charge of one of their children again.

"Tigress..." Po started slowly, knowing that she most likely wasn't going to like the idea. "You can stay here with Lotus if you want to," he told her gently. She snapped her head towards him, obviously not fond of the idea just like he had suspected.

"No!" she said a little too fast for her liking. "Chao is our son, Po. We have to bring him home _together..."_

"But Tigress, what if something happens _here?"_ Po countered. "What if Chao was out there in the forest and went back to the mountain just so we would go there ourselves...another distraction while Longwei comes here to take Lotus, too?"

Tigress moved her mouth to speak against his words, but then she paused. He had a point and no matter how much she didn't like that point, she knew that he was right. Sighing, she nodded slowly. "We can't leave our daughter alone without one of us."

She didn't need to say anything more. She didn't need to say 'So I will stay.' Po knew just from the words she had spoken that she would stay here at the Jade Palace with Lotus and the others to guard their little girl and make sure that the same thing that happened to her brother didn't happen to his sister, as well.

"We will all protect Lotus together," Shifu reassured him with Li nodding in agreement. "We won't let her out of our sight."

xxxx

They didn't have to pack anything. While the volcano was a bit of a trip, it wasn't so far away from the Jade Palace that they had to pack any necessities, especially since Po had the power of flight as a dragon and could reach the mountain in just a few hours. Po was determined that it would only be a _one_ -way trip: get to the volcano, get Chao, and then go back home.

Po stood at the edge of the Jade Palace steps, just as he always did when he was getting ready for take-off. Tigress was standing by with Lotus, Li and Shifu. Their little girl broke free of Tigress's grip and raced to her father, determined not to let him go without a goodbye hug.

"Daddy, do you _have_ to leave?" she whined, wrapping her arms around one of his legs. He laughed softly, bending down to her level.

"I gotta go, Lotus," he told her honestly. "We're going to bring your brother home."

"He'll stay in the palace with us?" Lotus asked, her green eyes bright and happy. Her excitement of the possibility that Chao was coming home soon was contagious, and Po could hardly wait until he and the Five were ready to go.

"I don't know about that," Po said. Was Chao even capable of changing back to his original form anymore? He didn't know. Lotus tilted her head to the side in confusion.

"We're ready, Po," Crane said as the rest of the Five came out of the palace. Tigress wrapped Lotus up into her arms. She wanted to go. She wanted to go with them so _bad,_ but she knew that it wasn't a good idea. She had to stay and protect their daughter.

There was a green flash as Po changed. Lotus hid her face under Tigress's arm at the quick transformation, but then she glanced up with wide and amazed eyes.

"He's still your dad," Tigress comforted her gently.

 _I'm going to bring him home,_ Po confirmed to his wife. He was going to be successful, he just knew it! Nothing could go wrong...it just couldn't! Chao was going to come back safe and sound with him and the Five. They had climbed up onto his back, ready for take-off. Lotus waved and he smiled, bending down into his flight position.

He took off from the edge of the Jade Palace steps faster than those left behind could blink.

xxxx

"Are we there yet?" Mantis asked.

"No," Monkey replied.

"Are we there yet?" Mantis asked again.

 _"No,"_ Monkey replied in a huff.

"Are we—"

Po let out a loud grumble, relishing the silence that followed. He had been flying for hours with the Five (or four, since Tigress had stayed behind...) on his back and since so much time had passed, they were starting to get restless. While he could communicate with Tigress through his mind to hers, none of the other Five had the pleasure of being able to communicate with the Dragon Warrior telepathically like Tigress could. The message had come across clearly all the same, and no one spoke any further until the sight of a certain mountain came into view—the volcano that Po had seen Chao dive right into.

A loud _whoosh_ suddenly blew right by Crane's head. Po had allowed him to stay on his back even though he had wings and could fly, insisting that Crane needed to reserve his energy. A roar just as loud as any that Po had sounded made itself known, and the group instantly knew that they were in trouble. Po immediately landed on all fours to the dirt-covered mountain ground, letting the others quickly off of his back.

"You go inside! We'll take care of things out here!" Monkey shouted as Longwei's dragons zoomed overhead this way and that.

 _Are you sure?_ Po wanted to ask, though he knew that he couldn't. Why couldn't he talk with everyone the way that he could talk with Tigress? It would make things so much easier! He didn't want to leave his team outside alone to face two gigantic dragons that they couldn't take on without him!

"We'll be fine!" Viper called to him as he inched slowly towards the mountain's open tip. "You might not get another chance to go in there! You need to go in _now!_ We'll distract these guys out here!"

Without second thought, Po dove into the mountain's top just as Chao had done. He was the only one who could go through, anyway; he was a dragon, and dragons were fireproof—he could take the heat while the others couldn't. He could only hope that they would be fine like Viper had promised, that they would be able to deter the two dragons long enough for him to go and get his son out.

Maybe then, they would even have double power to fight against the other two...

xxxx

Even as a dragon, it was hot. The heat simmered against his scales, and it was difficult to breathe. He wondered how Chao could have survived in such an environment at so young of an age; with a sick stomach, Po realized that one possibility could have been that the heat itself had forced him to transform, not Longwei.

It was dark and empty inside, and only a firepit from further below the top ground he was walking on was able to light his way.

A shadow crossed the corner of his eye just like it had at the Jade Palace. He growled, instantly spinning around to come face-to-face with the one he had been searching for six years ago along with his son.

It was Longwei. He was still wearing his black vest with the golden dragon in its center, not even affected by the heat around them. He was just standing there ready to be tackled.

Po growled again, not even hesitating and barely aware of the sound of a gate being opened. He charged forward but before he could even touch the dog before him, a fury of claws and teeth charged right at him, catching him completely off guard. The rest of the dragons were outside, weren't they?! But he had forgotten about _one._

"Your 'little' boy is quite the fighter," Longwei praised, remaining in place with a brand new shield. Po raised his head, shock nearly overtaking him when a very familiar dragon came into sight. A black and white dragon with freckles around its nose; Chao was protecting Longwei from further attacks! "People come from everywhere to see him fight. At his age, he's already got a lot of experience, though he has lost _some_ battles. I'd say he's quickly becoming my favorite out of the bunch."

People came to watch? Who? Other dogs?

 _He's only six years old!_ Po all but screamed in his mind, blood rushing to his head as a roar escaped. Longwei was, just as he had been six years prior, completely unfazed.

"Kill him," Longwei said simply to the black and white dragon. To Po's horror, Chao actually turned his head to face Longwei in response. Was the Dragon Slayer the only one he could understand?

 _Chao,_ Po said weakly through his mind to his son's, praying that somehow he would break through the barrier that Chao had created to block any incoming thoughts.

Chao snorted, pawing at the ground below him; he was preparing himself for another charge, and Po knew that he wouldn't be able to take much more of a beating—just from a simple slam, Chao had done a lot of damage already!

 _Chao, it's me. Your dad. You don't have to do this. He stole you from us!_ Po tried, though he could only watch in horror as Chao inched toward him with nothing but hurtful intent.

"Kill him and I will never put that cuff around your neck or leave you in the dark ever again."

There was so much hope plastered on the dragon's expression, it was almost disgusting the way that he looked to Longwei for help and support during such a time like this when he had to make one of the biggest decisions of his short life. He was only six years old and had already been through so much! Fighting other dragons to the death, Longwei's torture when he lost or didn't listen...it had to end _now._

 _You don't have to listen to him anymore, Chao! Just come with me!_

A fireball was shot directly at him. With nowhere to jump out of the way, Po could only brace himself for impact. The blast rammed his already beaten body up against the rocky wall. He could only gasp, gripping his furry arm in pain.

Wait... _furry_ arm?

 _No._ He hadn't even noticed the green flash, meaning that he'd turned back to normal!

The heat was already getting to be too much for him, and he had only been in his natural form for a few seconds. With all of his fur, he could hardly breathe. He knew that in mere minutes, he would literally be toast. He tried to change again, reaching deep into his Chi to pull out the dragon once more, but it was no use. Even if he could call forth the dragon, he wasn't going to leave his son with this maniac!

 _Chao..._

His thoughts were starting to get muddled and confusing. He couldn't think straight! He could no longer feel his body, and darkness was beginning to close in. He stared up at Chao. If it really was his time, he wanted the last thing that he saw to be his son.

 _I'm sorry I couldn't save you._

He was going to leave Tigress behind. He was going to leave Lotus behind! He couldn't leave behind his daughter! Shaking the darkness that continued to envelop him in a last attempt to break free from the fiery heat, he turned his gaze up to the top of the volcano. It was so far away...he'd never make it...

Po thought he could hear yelling then. He thought he could hear a roar that nearly split the mountain itself in half. Then the dragon-turned-panda felt himself being lifted. What was happening? He could feel something wrapping around his body, and it felt sharp.

He allowed the darkness to fully consume him.


	11. Chapter 11

Po shot awake, gasping frantically in and out. It took a moment for his surroundings to become clear, but once his vision settled, he could see that he was no longer inside of a burning hot volcano. His fur was charred, but he was back outside in fresh—though mildly warm—air. It was still a bit hot, though Po figured that was because they were still close by the volcano on a rocky kind of ground that connected to the fiery mountain.

Chao...the volcano...he'd almost suffocated! Po sat up straight in a panic, glancing every which way. There was no one in sight at all; not even the Five.

The Five...the dragons! They'd been attacked by Longwei's dragons! Where were they?! Po struggled onto two feet, looking up at the sky for any signs of the two large creatures...there was none, and no signs of the others either. He instantly regretted leaving them behind to fight the two monsters. What if something happened to them?

A rumble suddenly caught his attention and he glanced back in the other direction. He gaped once the image of another certain dragon—his son—came into view. Chao was standing a bit away from him with that same hard stare like he wanted to fight, but there was something different in his expression...curiosity?

"Chao...you saved me..." Po breathed. Who _else_ could it have been that had lifted him to the top of the volcano? Besides saving his life, Chao was out now, too. After six years, he was finally free and standing right next to his father who had been searching for him for so long. He'd managed to escape Longwei's clutches...a second time? It still confused Po why Chao had been out in the first forest where they had found him, but none of that mattered. All that mattered was that his son was close, yet so far away...

He didn't have him back yet.

Po took a slow step forward. He had to force himself not to shout in happiness that he was with his son once more, or to cry at what had happened to his little boy over the past six years and just wrap him up into a hug no matter how big he was. Po knew he had to be quiet and calm, or else Chao would be spooked and he would fly away again back into the "sanctuary" of the volcano.

The dragon backed away. He studied Po with a natural but hesitant curiosity, like he somehow _did_ remember that the furry panda in front of him was his father. Po guessed that since he had unintentionally transformed inside the volcano, a memory had sparked in Chao of a time where he himself had not been a dragon—but a scared little cub who had been kidnapped from his home and parents. He was too young then to remember, of course—but _something_ had caused him to go against Longwei and save his father.

Was the dog...gone now? Po doubted it. Longwei was the only one he'd seen inside the mountain, but Po remembered hearing lots of yelling when Chao had—for Longwei, at least—unexpectedly decided to fight back after being released from his cage.

Po wanted to be sick. A _cage_ was where his son had been all the time that he couldn't find him—a cage inside of a burning hot _volcano,_ and Longwei had forced him to fight against other dragons to the death, the answer to the scars that riddled Chao's sensitive body every which way. No wonder Longwei was called the Dragon Slayer, but he wasn't a _true_ Dragon Slayer—he used dragons to kill other dragons, creatures so rare that they hadn't been seen for thousands of years just as Shifu had said, and Po knew why now.

Even if Longwei was gone, they still had to worry about the other dogs that Po was sure were still in there and the two dragons that had attacked upon reaching their destination.

Chao had backed away even further during all of his thinking. He'd gotten lost in thought, and he'd almost lost Chao again because of it. He shook his head lightly, freeing himself from his own mind and pulling himself back to the situation at hand. He had to get Chao to trust him somehow and maybe then, they could go home...

Po took another step forward, and Chao took another step back on the warm and rocky ground. It probably wasn't a good idea to try and transform to see if he could get through via telepathy, so he remained a panda. He was still too weak from the incident in the volcano anyway, and Chao would surely run again. The black and white dragon seemed to understand spoken words better than mental words thanks to Longwei.

"Chao," Po said. The dragon tilted his head to the side in confusion. Of course he had no idea that Chao was his name, but Po was going to use it; he wanted whatever Longwei had been calling him to gradually fade away into the background.

The Dragon Slayer had been able to get his attention, and it seemed that Chao had been able to understand what he was saying. Maybe he could only understand certain words...

 _"Kill him and I will never put that cuff around your neck or leave you in the dark ever again."_

"Cuff," Po tried.

Chao glanced down at the cuff around his neck.

Po didn't want to use the next word, but he had to see what Chao could and couldn't understand.

"Dark."

Chao's eyes narrowed into fearful slits, and he backed up.

"Kill."

Chao bared his teeth, ready to attack on command.

Po had to choke back a sob. So there were only a few words that his son could understand...and they were all bad things.

"Cuff," Po said again. This time he added an extra word, one that he hoped Chao would understand and like. "Off."

Chao glanced back at the painful collar, then back to the panda before him. His yellow eyes were no longer fearful. They were still dim with shadows of the past, but just by one simple word...they were already beginning to brighten.

Po nodded, all the while trying not to allow his tears to escape.

"Let me take it off."

To his surprise, Chao bent downwards. He bent downwards as if in slow motion and Po crept ever closer, his steps slow and steady. Chao growled slightly when the panda was just two inches away from his face, his yellow eyes wary.

"It's okay," Po comforted. "I'm not going to hurt you. You saved my life...just let me take it off..."

Chao remained still as Po reached up with both arms and put them around the collar's lock.

"Hold still," Po told him gently. He knew that he had to be straightforward, or else it was going to be a very painful experience. "If you move, it's going to hurt."

Chao stood still as he could on command, all the while keeping his eyes trained on Po as the panda worked the lock. He called forth a quick burst of Chi and the collar finally gave in, releasing and clattering to the ground.

Chao's neck was absolutely awful with scarring all around. The collar must have been on his neck for some time, and no matter how hard Chao must have tried not to move, it appeared that he hadn't been very successful.

Po reached an arm out until it was directly in front of Chao's nose. He didn't reach it out any further, allowing his son to make the decision whether or not he wanted to completely trust his father.

Out of respect, Po closed his eyes when Chao continued standing frozen in place, unsure of what to do. The only thing he could see were the backs of his eyelids, and the only thing he could feel was Chao pressing his nose up against his outstretched paw.

Po's breath caught. "You can come home now," he said warmly with a relieved sigh, opening his eyes at last. Chao still had his nose pushed up against his paw, and his own eyes were shut; it looked like he wasn't about to let go anytime soon, so Po simply clung onto his son in return.

But his worries weren't over when Chao suddenly rumbled as if he were still in pain. But the collar was off, wasn't it?

Po looked behind Chao, his breath nearly getting knocked out of him as a horrible sight met his gaze. No...how had he not noticed?! There was an ugly slash on Chao's left thigh, presumably from a sharp claw or object that Longwei must have used to try and prevent him from escaping.

Red dripped from the wound much to Po's horror and Chao rumbled again not from relief, but from stinging pain that for once wasn't coming from his neck.

Then the dragon's legs wobbled and he dropped to the ground just like the collar.

"Chao! Chao, wake up!" Po cried, horror filling him when his son didn't respond. Po could still feel a pulse. He could still see Chao's chest rising up and down, but it was a weak effort.

He was losing his son all over again.

He had a downed dragon on his hands, and there was only so much Chi he could use before passing out. He needed the Five, and he had a bad feeling that Longwei and the other dragons had something to do with their disappearance.


	12. Chapter 12

"Don't do this, Chao," Po pleaded with his son as the wounded dragon lay on his side, his breathing growing weaker and weaker every minute. "Come on, stay with me..."

 _Why did this have to happen?!_ Po screamed in his mind. They'd just found each other! He wanted to blame Longwei for taking Chao away from him so long ago. He wanted to blame himself for being so stupid and giving into the Dragon Slayer's pokes and prods. He wanted to blame Oogway for not stepping in to prevent such a tragedy from happening in the first place, but he knew that blaming his master would only get him nowhere.

Everything happened for a reason, but he just couldn't fathom what the reason for Chao getting kidnapped or killed was. _Why, why, why?!_

"Hang in there, buddy," Po whispered, readying himself to perform an extensive Chi session; he didn't have a choice! The Five were nowhere to be found—most likely captured by Longwei—and every second that he wasted was a risk that Chao wasn't going to make it.

It was almost certain that _he_ wasn't going to make it, either. Just saving Lotus from her dreadful fever years ago had left him wiped out, and saving a _dragon_ from a fatal leg wound would most certainly kill him. He didn't have an entire group of friends and family to surround Chao like when he'd gotten shot in the chest with Kai's arrow.

But he had to do it. He _had_ to do it because if he didn't, Chao was going to die. He wouldn't allow his son to die!

He didn't have time to think things through, anymore. The only thing he could concentrate on was controlling his breathing as he began to ignite his Chi.

His paw shone a familiar bright glow, and he placed it on his son's wounded leg without any hesitation. Chao twitched but much to his father's relief, he didn't stir or wake up; jolting awake would have been a very upsetting and painful experience.

Before he could completely engulf the wound in the bright healing light, a strange and unexpected feeling washed over him. It was a rush of adrenaline and fear...and it came straight from _Chao._ A flash exploded in the Dragon Warrior's mind, temporarily blinding him. He could hear screaming, and then an extremely loud _boom_ nearly deafened his ears. His first instinct was to reel back away from the wounded reptile, but he held his ground.

He had to, or else...

Po could sense behind closed eyes that his Chi was working, that it was carefully stitching Chao's wound back together. But it was also running out. He could feel that the last of his Chi was draining out of him, soon to be no more—sacrificed for his once-missing son who he had finally found and would protect with everything he had no matter what, promising that nothing would ever happen to him again.

Po found that he couldn't take much more— _give_ much more. There were only a few drops of his Chi left and if he used the last remaining bit...he would be happy knowing that he had saved Chao's life.

It was then that he suddenly felt something different. It wasn't another strange feeling, but two familiar paws wrapping around his own. They were warm and soft, and he instantly knew who they belonged to with no need to open his tired jade eyes.

His Chi was growing stronger every second as the 'stranger' lent her own Chi, strengthening his dying fire bit by bit just as he had done to Lotus. She didn't say a word and she didn't have to, only gripping his paws even tighter than before as the last of Chao's wound finally disappeared. The dragon groaned but did not waken, letting out a relieved sigh as his pain from the leg wound vanished altogether.

The panda allowed his eyes to open at last, panting in exhaustion but immediately brightening when his gaze landed on his wife. She was sitting next to him and Chao on the rocky surface, bright golden light fading away from her paws.

"Tigress?" Po gawked.

She only smiled. "I knew you were in trouble. It's almost sundown." That had been their unspoken deal—that he was back by sundown, or she would go looking for him.

"How did you find me?" he questioned in confusion. There was no way she could have tracked them by land; he'd flown all the way to the volcano! Unless she had some sort of awesome power that he'd had no clue of before, there was just no way that she could have found him and the Five! Of course he had told her about the volcano, but it was only him who had actually traveled to said volcano while following Chao. Even after six years, his staff's powers were still sketchy; they still wouldn't work no matter how hard Po concentrated and visualized a person or a place. His power of flight when in dragon form had thankfully returned over time, but by then it had been useless; Chao was gone. Nowhere to be found, and they hadn't had any sort of leads.

"A feeling," Tigress responded. "I think Oogway was trying to tell me something, so he led me to you."

Po blinked, an uneasy feeling washing over him again. It wasn't as strong as when he had been healing Chao all by himself, but it was still there. Now that Tigress had mentioned feeling something too, he was slightly worried. It was nice to know that Oogway was still looking out for them, though. While he was upset that they hadn't been aided during the search for Chao—yet the tortoise had led Tigress straight to _him_ —Po still had faith that Oogway would never completely abandon them, and he always had a reason for his actions.

The unusual and unsettling vision that he'd had proved it.

"Is Lotus okay?" Po asked uncertainly, though he knew that Longwei was nowhere near the Valley of Peace, that he was inside the mountain.

"She was playing with Bao and Lei Lei when I left. Li and Mr. Ping are looking out for them, and Shifu and the other pandas are keeping a very close eye out for Longwei in case he goes back..." Tigress trailed off. It seemed that she had finally noticed the young—yet _huge_ —dragon resting right in front of them.

Po simply watched the bittersweet reunion unfold. She didn't say anything, remaining on her knees as she took in the sight of her long-lost son.

"It really is him..." she let out a choked sob, running her paws over his dull and scarred scales; there was only so much that their Chi could fix. "Chao...what happened to you?" she whispered, not even bothering to hide the tears running down her cheeks.

"It was Longwei," Po had to stop himself from growling. "He was forcing him to fight other dragons. A child."

Tigress didn't respond, but he could see anger mix in with her tears.

"We have to get him home."

Po glanced back towards the mountain. "What about the others? I think something happened..."

Tigress was firm. "We need to get him somewhere safe until he wakes up, first."

How were they going to move a big, unconscious dragon? They were also in the open where anyone could find them; even Longwei himself. With a wounded leg and carrying a heavy panda to safety, Chao hadn't been able to get far enough away from the volcano where they could easily be seen.

Po could only hope that the rest of the Five would be able to hold out a little longer, wherever they were. _Hopefully_ not inside the mountain where they would be burnt into crisps, unless Longwei had given them all extra fireproof vests. "We'll think of something..."

They didn't have much time to think when the silhouette of a large creature suddenly flew overhead, and the creature itself landed without any warning directly in front of them. It was a dragon—a dragon that Tigress recognized—the dragon who had first carried off Chao six years prior. It was all she could do to send it a threatening growl, ready to fight to the death to prevent her son from being taken again.

To their horror, it looked to the still-unconscious dragon first but then back to the Dragon Warrior, its dark eyes clouded in anger and hate as it screeched a warning. A warning that they couldn't leave, unfurling large wings that Tigress had described to him the night that Chao had been taken.

Po stared right back, a fire inside flaring.

It was a challenge.

He accepted.


	13. Chapter 13

Po accepted. He accepted that the dragon wanted to fight. He accepted the fact that it was most likely Longwei's upbringing that had caused this dragon to become the way that it was today—a bloodthirsty monster that had been trained to fight to the death all its life. A monster that he most likely would have no chance against; this was a _real_ dragon after all with far more experience than him regarding dragon ways and fighting techniques.

But he didn't want to fight. The dragon blinked in shock when he transformed into a wingless version of itself, his body longer and more serpent-like than the sturdier and more stocky build that it had. Though Chao had the same body type as his father, it was obvious that the reptile certainly hadn't been expecting a _panda_ to change into a great beast like itself, but Po had to wonder if it remembered Chao's first transformation at all.

 _I don't want to fight._

The first thing that he'd said to his son when they had found him in the forest. The first thing that he was trying to communicate now to the massive dragon in front of him. It was a light-gray winged beast with dark eyes and scars that littered its body just like Chao's, though none of the lines looked as fresh.

It only screeched again and snarled, standing in place and waiting for the Dragon Warrior to make a move.

Po didn't. He held still long enough for the dragon to begin pacing in circles around him, Tigress and the sleeping Chao. She held onto their son with a strong grip, holding his head in her lap.

Po concentrated. He knew that he couldn't communicate through his mind to anyone else's like he could with Tigress or possibly Chao and Lotus, but he had to _try._

 _Please. We need your help._

If he could get the dragon to listen and maybe even cooperate, then they could get Chao to safety and rescue the Five...and possibly as a bonus, all of them would get to go back home—home to Lotus who was surely missing both of her parents _and_ brother.

It was a fool's wish as the wind was knocked out of him when a gray blur forcefully shoved itself into his side, sending him sprawling onto the unfriendly rocks. Luckily, he had his potent scales to protect him from the sharp surface.

Groaning, Po struggled back onto all fours. Though Tigress had shared her own Chi with him, he was still weak from Chao's healing. It had taken a lot out of him before Tigress had arrived—yet another reason that he most likely wouldn't be able to win against the massive beast that was so much _bigger_ than him.

It was preparing to make another move, and Po wondered whether he actually _should_ try to fight back. He couldn't allow himself to be pounded to the ground like this! He was the _Dragon Warrior,_ certainly he had some extent of control over true dragons—maybe not like the kind of control that Longwei had, but he had to figure _something_ out that would make the dragon understand and hopefully stand down.

He didn't have much more time to think of what he could do next as the dragon shoved him again back down to the sharp rocks. He could see Tigress out of the corner of his eye, gently resting Chao's head back to the ground. She stood as the dragon advanced towards the fallen warrior.

 _Tigress, no! Stay back!_ Po begged as she made her way to them. She didn't listen, continuing to creep forward while the second dragon held Po down by his belly, its feet strong enough to keep him from struggling away.

Po realized that this was it for him. It was the end; the dragon had pinned him down and was going to take his life by coming down on his throat with razor-sharp teeth. He finally went limp much to the dragon's pleasure, keeping his eyes on Tigress.

 _Stay back!_ he shouted again through his mind. She shook her head, unsheathing her claws. Po knew he couldn't struggle again; the dragon would certainly end his life quicker. It was very capable of such a thing, just inches away from his neck. He thought of transforming. Would it work? Would he be able to get away by making himself smaller? Maybe he would simply just be crushed by the gigantic dragon on top of him. He didn't want to find out.

It rumbled and Po slammed his eyes shut at last, praying that it would be quick and he would awaken peacefully in the Spirit Realm.

But what he didn't expect next was for the weight to be lifted off of his stomach. Had the dragon decided that killing him wasn't worth it? Had he finally gotten through? A screech sounded and Po shot his eyes open to find—

 _Chao?!_

His son was awake, and he'd raced past Tigress and had knocked the dragon right off of his father. But he'd just gotten healed from a terrible leg wound! He couldn't fight a dragon that was three times bigger than him!

But like father like son, Chao didn't do anything, either. He only stood stiff as a board in between the two dragons, eyeing the more vicious with the same hard stare that he'd given his father when they had first met in the forest. He growled at the second dragon, warning him to stay away from the half-dragon behind him.

Po could only watch in utter shock as the odd scene unfolded before him. Chao was still making an assortment of different sounds that ranged from light growling to full-on snarling, and the other dragon seemed to be _listening._

Were they...communicating in dragon language, something that Po could only hope to decipher? Tigress watched on with a confused but fascinated expression that matched his own. If he had been in panda form, he would have shrugged.

 _I have no idea what's going on,_ he whispered into her mind, afraid that the dragons would somehow hear his thoughts and he would ruin whatever Chao was trying to accomplish. Tigress remained silent herself, equally afraid of possibly ruining the moment for her son. Whatever Chao was saying to the gray dragon, it appeared to be working.

To Po's surprise, the large reptile stood down—it wasn't entirely submitting to their son's 'orders,' but Chao was stepping aside away from the Dragon Warrior.

Po stiffened as the other edged closer and closer to him, wondering if he should close his eyes in respect like he had done for Chao. In the end, he decided that he should definitely keep them _open_ in case things went awry.

It sniffed and blew in his face, snorting...then it bent down and took off into the cloudless setting sky, leaving Po and Tigress alone with their newly-healed son.

 _What the heck just happened?_

Tigress shrugged so subtly that he almost didn't catch it. Chao was still with them, so Po supposed that was a good thing. He wasn't trying to take off along with the other dragon since the panda had transformed into a creature like him. The thing that baffled Po the most was the fact that his son had saved his life for a _second_ time by stopping a fight from ending badly.

Chao snorted softly and made eye contact with Tigress. She stared back in surprise as he inched closer and closer towards her as he had done with her husband—the only difference was that Chao was taking the initiative to move forward and not back. His mother stayed in place, chills running over her body as he closed the space between them.

Po could sense that Chao somehow remembered— _knew_ instinctively that Tigress was his mom. She stared into eyes that mirrored her own, and they glistened brightly as he placed his head into her arms and she hugged his snout tightly as she could in return, fully allowing tears to free fall.

The only thing the Dragon Warrior knew was that all three of them were finally together. They could finally bring their son home—but they knew that they had to rest and regain their strength; they were all tired from the day's events.

They would find a place to rest for the night—a place where Chao would be safe—and then the following day a rescue would ensue.

Po could only wish that the feeling everything was going to go wrong would leave him alone.


	14. Chapter 14

_Thank you everyone for leaving your thoughts/opinions! They really helped and I appreciate it! I hope some questions are answered in this chapter for you :)_

xxxx

They found a place far enough away from the mountain where they couldn't be seen; at least only if Longwei didn't go sniffing them out along with his other dogs and dragons—dragons that probably weren't as forgiving as the one Chao had managed to stop from killing his father.

Po had remained in dragon form for the time being, creating a fire that was low enough so it wouldn't be seen from a distance, but that was just warm enough to blanket the air that had turned chilly in the night. There were trees and foliage around them that were enough to hide Chao. He had stayed awake for the most part upon their arrival to the safe spot, just watching his parents with that same innocent and curious look until he had finally fallen asleep next to the fire.

In a flash, Po changed back to a panda, smiling softly at Tigress who smiled back, but he could see a solemn expression behind it.

"...Do you think he can still change back?" she asked quietly, concentrating on the small and dancing flames.

Po looked away. "I don't think so..."

Unless there were a few spontaneous transformations, Chao had been a dragon all of his short life—though six years was a long time for his bones and system to develop, which while in dragon form had caused him to grow as big as he was now; an abnormal size for a regular six year old. Even some of his markings had changed, like his freckles that had first been a faint black and now were a faint white, and how he no longer had his stripes. His 'panda' eye patches were white now, as well; the only thing that hadn't changed drastically were his yellow Tigress-like eyes.

He was most likely stuck as a dragon.

Po sighed. When he had been stuck in his own dragon form, there had been a reason for it—the end of the world, and as soon as he had saved the world, he had been able to change back into his normal self. Well, not right away, at least. The end of the world had been a recurring event every thousand years, and so he'd had to go into hibernation for a thousand years himself—until he'd met a good friend who had given him the idea of making the universe immortal.

It was only until he'd actually succeeded in his mission to make the universe immortal did he get the chance to go back home and to have the power to switch between forms at will after his little quarrel with Kai. Unless there was a reason for Chao to be a dragon and he had to figure that reason out so his son could change back, Po doubted that he would be able to at all—or if he even _wanted_ to, for that matter. Chao was probably so used to his dragon form by now that his first form would be strange and unnatural to him.

Dragon or 'panger,' Chao was still his son and they were together at last.

"You've never told me about Chao," Tigress split the silence.

"What?" Po asked, face frowning in confusion.

"Your friend that Chao was named after...I don't think I've ever met him," Tigress explained. "I know you got the name Lotus from your dad who named you Lotus originally, but I'd love to know Chao's story..."

"Oh..." Po visibly faltered. How was he going to tell her that Chao was actually a friend from the _future?_ A friend who wasn't going to be born until a thousand years later? He couldn't, and he struggled for a moment to come up with some sort of story that was believable enough.

"Chao was a student in one of my classes," he settled. "A young tiger who wanted to take an introductory course to kung fu."

Tigress perked at the fact that Chao had been a tiger like her; not many were ever in the Valley of Peace, and Po knew she had been adopted by Shifu from an orphanage as a cub.

"Why didn't you ever introduce _us?"_ she teased lightly.

"His family wasn't staying for long...they had to move. But he was a pretty quick learner and reminded me a lot of you." Well, at least that part wasn't a lie. What she didn't know was that Chao had been a descendant of hers, and Po wasn't about to tell her anytime soon; not with the way he had sparked a memory in her just by telling her his 'crazy dream' that he'd had before everything happened.

Silence reigned for a few more moments. Po spotted movement out of the corner of his eye and he looked, seeing Chao twitch in his sleep as if he were dreaming...or having a nightmare. Tigress moved closer to the dragon and placed a paw on his side; his twitches lessened almost immediately and she smiled at how peaceful he looked. Po couldn't help but be reminded of a similar night sitting by a fire when he had been stuck, and how Tigress had managed to calm him down before his dragon half had completely taken him over.

Tigress's smile faded when her eyes landed on Chao's bruised and scarred neck in the fire's glow, her fists clenching at the thought that her baby had been so alone, scared and abused at the hands of a certain dog. When she crossed paths with Longwei again, she was going to make him sorry that he had ever even _thought_ of kidnapping and torturing her child.

"Why do you think the other dragons never had collars on when I first saw them?" She pondered aimlessly. "They still don't..."

Po wondered the same. "My guess is that they 'behave' so well for Longwei now that he doesn't have to worry about them flying off."

The dragon that they'd encountered earlier had been the one that had taken Chao. When he was missing, Tigress had thought of every possible attack that she would use to get her son back, and she had almost used one today when it had pinned down Po. Now that she knew the other dragons were just as hurt as Chao, she only felt empathy for the two beings who Longwei had broken. Maybe when this was all over, they could free the others who had been captured. Prisoners in their own home...

A frantic whining was suddenly heard. Tigress had to back away when Chao nearly leapt up from his once-peaceful sleep, fully alert and turning his head in every way that he possibly could.

"Woah! What is it, buddy?" Po asked, raising his paws in an attempt to calm Chao down. Had they been found? Was Longwei coming? But Chao ignored his attempts, pawing at the dirt and finally resting his terrified gaze in the direction that they had come.

Po followed his gaze, and he was slowly beginning to have an idea of why Chao must have escaped Longwei the first time when he had found him in the forest, his own gaze resting on the very tip of the volcano that stood out behind the brush.

Po could hear screaming like he'd heard in his vision again, and the same _boom_ as before that left his ears ringing.

He could barely feel Tigress resting a comforting hand on his shoulder as the ground below them shook.


	15. Chapter 15

_Bao and Lei Lei were nice, but she didn't want to play. Mommy had left to go find daddy, so she wasn't in the mood to play. They had gone to bring back her stolen brother and while she was excited that he was coming back home after such a long time, she was sad and scared, especially after what had happened at school between her and Cheng. She couldn't make the scream that he had made go away—his scream when she'd slashed a sharp claw across his face._

 _She felt awful. She felt weird too, like something was happening to her. She couldn't explain it, but she felt like she had to do something. Do what, she didn't know, but it wasn't leaving her alone and she didn't know what to say to her grandfathers who were babysitting (though she wasn't a baby!)_

 _Mr. Ping had made her a nice bowl of soup. She loved soup, especially her grandfather's. He'd told her that there was a secret ingredient in the soup that made it taste so good, and that it would help her feel better._

 _The weird feeling still didn't go away, and she hardly got the chance to take another sip of her soup when there was suddenly a bright green flash._

 _"Uhh...we may have a slight problem..." Mr. Ping heard Li from Po's room where they had been watching Lotus and getting her ready for bed. She hadn't been feeling well,_ _so they had decided to let her have Po's old room at the noodle shop after taking her home from the Jade Palace. They could still keep a close watch on her; Bao and Lei Lei had returned to their own rooms, and Tigress had gone off to help Po._

 _Mr. Ping sighed, his irritation getting the better of him. He'd been serving customers all day, and at the same time he'd had to keep a close eye on Lotus; his son's daughter. Some days, he still couldn't believe that he was a grandpa!_

 _While he loved the kids, he had been fretting about his own who had gone off to some volcano to get **his** son back, and it had been more than a day. He didn't need Li to bring in yet another problem as he tried closing up the shop for the night!_

 _"And what could be more of a problem than my son going off to fight yet another crazy villain, and one who **kidnapped** his son while we have to just sit here and_ _—"_

 _The spoon grasped in his wing clattered to the floor when he caught sight of Li in the doorway—holding a small, black and white little dragon with orange spots in his arms._

xxxx

Their plans to rest for the night had to be put on hold—especially with the way Chao was acting. He wouldn't—or _couldn't_ —stay still for more than a few seconds, either pacing back and forth or continuing to paw at the ground.

"It's okay, Chao," Po whispered in the most calming tone that he could muster, though the attempt was futile; something was poking at his gut and telling him that they needed to get the Five and get out of here _now,_ and Chao knew something, too.

The dragon snorted, pawing at the ground one last time. His gaze was still fixed on the mountain, and Po couldn't get him to move from his position where he'd been standing frozen in place ever since his pacing had stopped.

"We have to get them now," Po told Tigress, keeping a gentle paw on his frantic son. Chao's breathing never slowed, his chest heaving up and down in a panic.

"What is it, Po?" Tigress questioned, feeling slightly panicked herself after the ground had trembled underneath them. Was the end of the world happening again? Po's dragon half wasn't taking him over, was it? He was still a panda...

The moment his gaze had rested on the volcano, Po knew that he and Tigress had to perform their rescue mission _now;_ something was up, and it was something big. Something that he had a feeling they wouldn't be able to control, and it had something to do with that volcano.

"You need to get Chao somewhere safe," he told Tigress, kicking at the mini fire until it went dim.

"What about you?"

"I'm going inside the volcano again," he said, determination building. "I'm positive that's where they are." Longwei's dragons _had_ to have taken the Five there, and Longwei or the other dogs _had_ to have given them extra fireproof vests.

Chao blanched at the idea, remembering what had happened the first time that his father had gone inside. He'd transformed by accident back into a panda because of him, and he hadn't been able to breathe!

"I'll be fine, Chao. We're not going to let Longwei get you again," Po promised softly.

"Are you sure about that?" A new, rough voice made itself known. A _familiar_ and hated voice, much to Tigress and Po's dismay.

Longwei and what looked like an entire army of dogs peeked out from the greenery around them.

Tigress circled—checking for an opening—but they were stuck. They were absolutely stuck and there was no way around the pack of dogs!

"Come," Longwei ordered Chao.

Chao growled lowly, remaining in place next to Po.

"Now," Longwei demanded. "Or I'm going to put _this_ back on." He lifted a cuff. A brand new cuff that looked to be a perfect fit for Chao.

He whimpered and to Po's horror, he began to creep forward—back to his kidnapper.

"Chao, no, don't go to him!" the panda pleaded. But no matter how hard he tried convincing him not to go, Chao continued inching forward until he was standing right next to Longwei himself.

"They always come back," the dog chuckled.

The only thing Po could do was watch his son struggle against the cuff that was slammed around Chao's neck without warning by Longwei's _second_ dragon who had made a dramatic entrance—the one who had carried his master to safety six years earlier. The one who Longwei had passed the cuff to without another glance so fast that Po had to blink and make sure the collar hadn't simply just disappeared from Longwei's paw.

Before Tigress could jump forward, three dogs from behind grabbed her arms. She threw them with all the strength she had, knocking them backwards again.

Po struggled himself against two others that forcefully slammed another cuff around his paws.

He could hardly see the green that flashed as he transformed as a last resort, thundering with a roar. Binds were thrown at him from all different sides until he fell, his feet kicking blindly in the air—he couldn't break free no matter how hard he struggled, the ropes only squeezing tighter and tighter until he could barely breathe.

The other dragon had pinned down Chao to keep him from moving too much—to stop him from hurting himself further until the smaller submitted at last, falling limp underneath the gigantic weight above him. It rumbled a warning and then stepped off of the younger dragon who could only lay in shock.

Po couldn't keep himself in dragon form for much longer, still too weak from the previous day's events, especially since neither he or Tigress had gotten any real rest. But he kept pushing forward anyway against the ropes that held him captive, shoving with all his might to get to his son.

Darkness was beginning to creep in as the last of his energy was sapped.

He felt himself morph and he was a panda once more.

 _No...Chao..._

The last thing he saw was his son obediently following Longwei and the second dragon.


	16. Chapter 16

_They tried making Lotus as comfortable as they possibly could, lying her down on Po's bed. It was the best that they could do, given the circumstances. She was still breathing much to their relief, but she was shivering in her sleep as if she had the chills from a cold._

 _"I wasn't expecting **this** to happen," Li murmured quietly as they kept watch on the little dragon throughout the night._

 _"Why didn't they tell us?" Mr. Ping wanted an answer, but he didn't have one. Lotus had turned into a dragon just like Po could, and neither his son or his wife had told either of them about the possibility that their children had dragon powers, too._

 _"They were probably waiting for the right time," Li said dully in response. He was just as confused and wanted answers just as much as Ping._

 _"What if she doesn't wake up?"'_

 _"She will!" Li shot back._

 _"Sorry," Mr. Ping mumbled. "I didn't mean_ — _"_

 _"I know you didn't mean it," Li said gently, reaching an arm to bring a blanket over the rest of Lotus' shivering body. "I think that's why Longwei took Chao in the first place...he knew that the Dragon Warrior could transform, so he must have figured that Chao could transform, too."_

 _"And Lotus...what do we do when she wakes up?" Mr. Ping questioned, horrified at the thought that Chao had been in the hands of a Dragon Slayer all the time that he'd been missing. Was Chao a dragon, too? What if Longwei had done something awful to him? Could he still change back? Only Po and Tigress knew the answers so far, and they hadn't returned with their hopefully-found son yet._

 _"If she's still a dragon when she wakes up, the best thing we can do is just be there for her," Li responded. He wished he had more of an answer._

 _They had no idea how to help a half panda-tiger-dragon child, but they were certainly going to try until her parents and brother were back safe and sound._

xxxx

It was hot again, but Po quickly realized that it wasn't as hot as before when he'd first entered the volcano. He felt something tight wrapped around his body and when he turned his weary gaze down, he could just make out a black shape...a vest? He noticed that it wasn't as difficult to breathe, either.

He was inside the volcano, and he was wearing a black fireproof vest like Longwei's—the only difference was that it was simply pure black; there was no golden dragon emblem in the center. It wasn't that comfortable either, hardly the perfect size for him, but it would have to do. He would rather be uncomfortable than burn into a crisp. Looking up, he could see bars that he was trapped inside of. They were glowing a bright orange, and Po knew instantly that it most likely wasn't a good idea to try and break free unless he wanted to burn his paws.

Not yet, at least. His cage was huge—big enough for a dragon. Longwei must have figured that he would transform again to get out, and he was mostly right. Though Po had been unconscious for who knew how long, he was still tired. He quietly cursed himself for trying to go after the Five while he, Tigress and Chao had needed a well-deserved rest. But his son had been so distraught over _something,_ and Po still had the nagging feeling that whatever it was had something to do with this volcano.

They couldn't stay inside for long; they had to get out, and _soon._

Tigress was nowhere to be seen. She wasn't in the cage with him, which he was somewhat grateful for. Longwei must have taken her to another part of the volcano, and he hoped that she was with the Five now.

"What do you think?"

Po spun around to the entrance of the cage, only to see the one who had put him there in the first place.

It was the Dragon Slayer, and there was something different about him. He was wearing black gloves along with his vest, and Po could only guess that the gloves were for opening cages that reached unimaginable heated temperatures.

"Where are they?" he ground out, resisting the urge to change right then and there. He had to stop himself from grabbing the cage bars. Somewhere in the volcano, Tigress was locked away. The Five were locked away somewhere with her. Somewhere in the volcano, Longwei had locked _Chao_ in the dark again. It was still cruel, but Po hoped against all hope that the Dragon Slayer had only put him back in the dark, and that he hadn't given his son severe punishment for not following the dog's orders.

"Your friends? Your wife? Your _son?"_ Longwei questioned innocently. He said the word 'son' like it was a lie.

"Let them go. Let _him_ go," Po demanded, putting emphasis on the 'him' for Chao.

"And why would I do that?"

"Because he's not yours. He never was," Po returned, "you _stole_ him from us!"

"I'll tell you where they are. In fact, I'll _show_ you," Longwei said with a grin, blowing the fact aside.

Po stopped. _Well, I wasn't expecting that,_ he thought warily.

"What's the catch?" the panda questioned, eyes narrowing. He couldn't trust this guy!

"No catch," Longwei said with that ever-growing grin that made Po want to kick him in the stomach. "Just follow me and don't try anything. What do you say?"

It wasn't like there was any other way for him to escape. If he just played it safe and faked cooperation for Longwei, he could figure something out on the way to wherever the Dragon Slayer was going to take him!

Po sighed. He nodded so slowly that he wondered if Longwei had seen it, but the dog's eyes brightened and he nodded to two other canines wearing black vests and gloves. They reached over and the orange-flaring gate creaked as it slid open. Po—with some hesitation—stepped outside, fully expecting Longwei and the other dogs to attack him.

But they never did. They didn't even try to put cuffs on him again. _Nothing_ happened; Longwei simply began to walk forward in the other direction, motioning for the Dragon Warrior to follow.

Po obliged, the two extra dogs close behind. He paid attention to their surroundings, searching for any pathways that could possibly lead to the outside, but there were none. It was completely dark besides light that was coming from a bright firepit below them.

They came upon a ring set on top of said firepit. It wasn't _just_ a ring; Po realized that it was a _stadium,_ and there were seats that circled an arena that they'd stepped into.

A large crowd of dogs were sitting in the stands barking and conversing, even handing each other currency—they were making _bets!_

Feeling faint, Po soon realized that the dogs were making bets on which dragon was going to win.

This was a _fighting arena,_ custom-made so that it could withstand the heat of the volcano.

Heart leaping, he could see the Five in the stands and he immediately wanted to rush to them, but he was halted by the guards. Upon second glance, Po could see that they were all wearing fireproof vests, as well—it even appeared that Viper had a custom vest to fit her snake-shaped body.

"Po," he heard a voice call that he knew all too well, a voice that had been ingrained into his very being the day that they'd been married.

"Tigress!" he nearly shouted as she raced up to him. She was unharmed, wearing a black vest herself; there didn't seem to be much variety going on there.

Longwei and the guards allowed them to reunite, Tigress hugging her panda and almost squeezing the life out of him.

"Are you okay? Did they hurt you?" Po asked frantically. She nodded at his first question and surprisingly shook her head at the last.

"I don't see Chao anywhere," she said mournfully. "They took him somewhere else, Po."

"You said there wasn't a catch!" Po growled, but it wasn't like he had been expecting the dog to tell the truth.

"And all of you— _including_ your dear little boy—will be released in due time," Longwei comforted to no avail. "All you have to do is fight your way through a few rounds, Dragon Warrior."

"You don't even kill the dragons yourself," Po seethed, though it wasn't something he should actually be angry about; innocent creatures were losing their lives! "You force other dragons to kill them for you. You're no Dragon Slayer."

"Give these people a good show and you'll be free to leave," Longwei said with sparkling and greedy brown eyes, brushing his insult aside.

Po gazed up at the crowd in the stands. Besides the Five, they were all dogs, and they were all waiting loudly and impatiently. Waiting to watch the famous and peace-bringing Dragon Warrior fight other dragons to the death just as Longwei had made Chao do. He had no idea where they had all come from, but that didn't matter. What mattered was that they were itching to see something exciting and 'entertaining,' and it made Po sick.

"Like I said before...you're no _Dragon Warrior,"_ Longwei quipped. "You're not a _real_ dragon; you can't even get real dragons to _listen_ to you."

 _Not a real dragon. Listen._ Po blinked. The faintest of an idea flickered through his mind, and he took hold of it before it could fade away.

"Po, you can't," Tigress said, gripping his paws tighter than she ever had before. This could be the last time that she was going to see him if he followed through.

Of course he knew that he couldn't. He couldn't just go into a fighting ring against dragons that were much bigger and stronger than him. Who knew how many Longwei had, or even where he had gotten them from? It was against his very _nature_ to kill unless it was absolutely necessary, like when he'd sent Tai Lung to the Spirit Realm through the Wuxi Finger Hold.

But this was the only way if they wanted to escape before time ran out. He _had_ to do it.

"Maybe I can't...but I know another dragon who can," he whispered so Longwei and the other dogs couldn't hear, giving Tigress a slight grin and hoping that she would get the message.

Her eyes grew big and round.

In a blink, there was an instant flash of green and he transformed as a sign of acceptance to Longwei. The Dragon Slayer smiled wide and nodded to the two other gloved dogs who opened the fighting ring gate with unbridled excitement.

Tigress was led by a guard up to the stands along with the others.

Po slinked into the center of the ring and the crowd cheered, going wild. His vest had disappeared after transforming; he figured that it would come back if he changed into a panda again by accident—at least, he _hoped_ it would. His pants always did, thank goodness! He had no idea how _that_ worked...

Getting back to the situation at hand, he slowed his breathing. He took a breath in and let it out slowly, allowing his body to completely relax. He thought of everyone he loved—Tigress, the Five, his fathers and his little girl and boy who he was determined to save just as Chao had saved him twice in such a short span of time. Then he reached deep into the center of his consciousness, calling...

He didn't know if it was actually going to work. The end of the world was never going to happen again; the universe was immortal and 'it' would have no reason to emerge once again. But to the Dragon Warrior's surprise, he began to feel fuzzy, his thoughts becoming incoherent and hard to follow until everything around him faded away into nothing.

Tigress and the Five were the only ones watching from the stands to notice a subtle change in the Dragon Warrior as his bright jade eyes turned a dark black.


	17. Chapter 17

The fighting gate opened and the first contestant crept out.

It was a big red dragon with wings and hazel eyes—twice as big as the Dragon Warrior. It was a male, and he inched forward slowly and carefully towards the Dragon Warrior, stopping in the center of the ring a few feet away.

The dragon had been in the fighting ring before; Tigress could tell just by former scars that it had achieved through fights that it had won over the years, and how it had no cuff around its neck—it was an older dragon, possibly older than Po. There were not as many lines that littered its body like Chao or the gray reptile who had tried to stop them from escaping, which could only mean one thing...

It was quite an experienced dragon that knew how to hold its own against other, far more vicious beasts that it was forced to fight.

The dragon snorted and growled, pawing at the ground just as Chao had done before Longwei found them, but Tigress knew that it wasn't for the same reasons.

He wanted to fight. He wanted to _kill,_ and he was waiting for a command to do so.

The crowd quieted as the two dragons faced each other from a few feet away in the dirt-covered arena. Besides the seats for the dogs, there was metal that protected the stands all the way around in a circle that Tigress could only guess was for when the dragons accidentally shot a blast of fire into the audience.

"I can't watch," Crane whined to himself, covering his face with a wing.

"It's not him," Tigress tried to reassure the nervous avian. She was just as nervous as Crane, but she was managing to keep herself together. Po had called upon his dragon spirit—his _true_ Dragon Warrior spirit that was a real dragon like the others, and it would know what to do; the 'real' dragons would have no idea what hit them if Po's pure dragon half was anything like it had been when attacking her and Master Oogway.

"I still can't watch," Crane mumbled from behind his wing. A white and black spotted dog sitting next to him forcefully grabbed his arm and he yelped quietly, turning his attention instantly back to the arena; it was obvious that they all had to watch...or else.

Another dog down in the arena handed Longwei a sword that glowed orange in the strongly heated temperature. His master entered the ring with an edge, lifting the sword high in the air. He was standing right in between the two large dragons with an overload of confidence that Tigress could feel all the way from her place in the stands, and for a second she almost admired Longwei's bravery. Shaking herself out of it seconds later, she knew that it wasn't bravery coming from the Dragon Slayer; it was an ego that was just as big as the two dragons he was about to command to fight, and an ego that she was vastly surprised hadn't gotten him killed yet in his venture to 'train' dragons.

There was no time to waste. The dogs in the stands were getting far too impatient by barely keeping their excitement contained, so Longwei didn't even bother with an introduction on what each dragon was named; everyone who had made a bet already knew. Tigress was only focused on Po, sending a silent prayer to Oogway that he was going to make it out alive and well.

Longwei raised the sword high in the air. The red dragon tensed up so hard that Tigress could practically see its muscles straining. The Dragon Slayer dropped his paw down that contained the orange glowing sword, pointing it in the Dragon Warrior's direction.

 _"Fight!"_ he shouted at the top of his lungs, bending down to race out of the arena on all fours so as not to get crushed by the oncoming dragons.

But nothing happened—not even as the crowd roared their approval that the show was finally starting.

It never started.

The red dragon wanted to fight, but something was stopping it. The beast remained in place, continuing to paw at the ground. It snorted and whined, hesitant to charge forward.

The Dragon Warrior rumbled and it was then that the crowd noticed something amiss. They growled, watching in confusion at the odd spectacle that was unfolding before them. It was a sight that Tigress recognized from how her son had behaved with the gray reptile.

The two dragons were _conversing._

"What's going on?" Viper questioned from her place next to Tigress.

"It's not going to fight," Tigress answered in a whisper, smiling from ear to ear. "It's not _meant_ to fight."

Po's Dragon Warrior spirit—the dragon that emerged once every thousand years as a warning that the end was going to start—had never been an evil entity. The only reason it had ever attacked her and Master Oogway was because it had been ripped away from the mortal realm during a time of need—the end of the world. She and the Five had assumed that it caused the river in the village to rise and nearly drown them, but the river had climbed to unnatural heights because of the End, and the dragon had _saved_ them.

"Fight," Longwei hissed. He'd never left the arena, standing boldly besides the two giants.

The red dragon didn't listen. He kept his attention on Po, never breaking eye contact with the Dragon Warrior. The two continued making garbled speech, communicating in a language that Tigress could only hope to understand; the only thing she knew was that Po's dragon side was winning the fight already in a way that Longwei had never expected him to, and the Dragon Slayer was enraged.

 _"Kill,"_ Longwei practically shouted, raising his voice higher and banging his sword against the wall of the stands.

The red dragon hardly flinched at his master's actions. To Longwei's outrage, he lowered his head—bending his body downwards in a bow.

Those in the stands howled in anger, just as confused as their Dragon Slayer. The red dragon wasn't supposed to bow; it was supposed to _fight,_ and a fight wasn't what they were getting. Their betting money was being wasted!

"Stop," Longwei ordered. How was it even possible? The so-called Dragon Warrior had to be cheating! "Go back," he told the red dragon.

It lifted itself from the bow, turned, and sauntered back into the shadows of its cage.

"Bring out the next dragon."

The cage creaked open again and a second dragon came out that Tigress had almost come to know personally—the dragon who had taken Chao in its own claws and who had flown away to this very volcano where her son had been for six years, and the dragon who had come within inches of killing Po. In the back of her mind, she wanted to run down into the arena and make another attempt to bring justice to both Chao and Po, but she stopped herself in a reminder that the gray and winged dragon was not what it seemed—especially thanks to the scene that was playing out before her and hundreds of dogs that were becoming impatient.

The Dragon Warrior let out a soft snort, hardly affected by the newcomer who wasn't really a newcomer at all; like Tigress, he knew the dragon. It had just made an attempt to kill him the previous day, something that wasn't so easy to forget. He simply continued to converse and the gray dragon followed suit, nervous but cooperating.

Nervous but _listening._

Her smile never faltering, Tigress realized that by allowing his dragon side to completely take over, Po had become a real dragon—and the dragons were listening to their Dragon Warrior. The gray dragon's shy nature when it had first confronted its golden 'enemy' faded.

Another wave of realization swept over Tigress and she had to grip the stand for support as quick flashes of memories and feelings flickered through her mind. It _regretted_ taking her son. It had never wanted to take Chao in the first place; the only reason it had was all on the Dragon Slayer and how he had threatened punishment if it did not comply. Horrible punishments like the cuff...

Tigress still wasn't sure if she ever could, but the Dragon Warrior wanted to forgive him, just like he had wanted to try and forgive Shen before the peacock had all but attacked the panda who had just destroyed every last one of his ships and cannons.

Longwei's expression was almost comical, his red-brown fur turning as red as the magma beneath them when the gray dragon mimicked the red's final action and bowed in respect before turning around on its own terms without the help of his master.

The Dragon Slayer knew that the other dogs were growing more impatient by the minute. Nothing exciting or entertaining was happening, and some were even starting to leave.

"Fine," Longwei whispered in a growl as he signaled to the guards to release the third and final contestant. "Let's see how well you do against _this_ dragon."

For the third time, the cage was opened.

Po could feel himself awakening in his own mind, his dragon half willingly returning to its slumber on its own accord. He could see the arena again—the dogs were shouting complaints and there wasn't a dragon in sight, but he knew that the Dragon Warrior spirit had done its job.

It was a sharp jerk back to reality when there was suddenly an enormous _BANG_ and the inside of the volcano shook.

It was even more of a shock when the broken image of his son came into view.

Chao was even more bruised and battered than he had been before with fresh, new lines that covered his black and white scales. The cuff was still wrapped tightly around his neck from the time that Longwei's second dragon had forced it on, and his yellow eyes had lost what little light they had gained during the short time he'd had with his parents.

It didn't even seem like he was thinking clearly with his eyes unfocused. He reared up, pawing at the air before landing hard on his feet. He shook his head, snorting in a panic.

Chao was panicking and Po finally—for _sure_ —understood why, the bang still echoing in his ears.

 _Tigress, we have to get out,_ he said, sending a telepathic link to his wife. He kept his gaze locked on hers in the dispersing crowd, and he could see from her expression that she also knew that the bang wasn't supposed to have happened.

The mountain trembled and the crowd was beginning to notice that something wasn't right. Chao was stuck in a panic, his breathing fast and labored.

Po's mind nearly went blank from the realization that struck him like a pile of bricks as the puzzle pieced itself together _why_ exactly Chao was in such a panic.

The dirt-covered ground in the future that made it seem like the Jade Palace had never even existed...

The smog in the sky that could have only been caused by a major eruption...

 _Eruption..._ his _vision_ of the _booming_ and _screaming..._

It wasn't anyone who had tried attacking the Valley that had been the cause of its ultimate destruction in the future, though that must have been part of the reason it became the Forbidden Zone.

It was a _thing,_ and even though that thing was miles away, it could still reach the Valley where Chao had escaped to the first time; he had been running from something, and it was right under their noses.

The past was happening all over again.

He pulled his mental link with Tigress forward with a strong tug, his heart pounding so hard he could barely think straight.

 _The volcano is going to destroy the Valley of Peace!_


	18. Chapter 18

It was a mess.

No one was listening anymore. Not the dragons, the other dogs—and certainly not Chao.

Noises were coming from inside that connected to the mountain—rumbling that could match a dragon's and even a loud _screech_ that let those trapped inside know that something terrifying and irreversible was about to happen.

The crowd in the stands had all but gotten up and were running in a frenzied motion every which way.

Tigress made a leap over the metal protection that surrounded the stands, landing gracefully on all fours amid the chaos with the others who were finally free.

Snapping his attention away from Tigress, Po set all concentration on the panicking black and white dragon who hadn't settled down in the least since his anxiety had started. The cuff around his neck was squeezing him to the point of choking, and Po knew that he had to get it off before his son hurt himself any further.

 _Chao,_ he tried to communicate. In less than a few seconds, it was clear that his son wasn't going to listen to his father, either. He was in too much of a panic, his chest rising up and down erratically.

But he wasn't _able_ to listen, was he? Po knew that while he was in dragon form, the only one he could communicate actual words to was Tigress. When Chao had first been stolen, he had tried everything he possibly could to get him back, including sending his telepathic powers outwards. There had been no reply but silence, and Po had known that Chao was simply too young to know that he had the ability to contact his parents no matter how far away he was.

Po moved closer to his son, ignoring the fast-paced movement around him. Tigress and the Five were the only shapes that he paid any attention to; jumps and kicks told him that they were in the middle of warding off the guard dogs who were once again trying to capture and hold them hostage.

 _Chao,_ Po tried once more, focusing on putting his energy forward. He had to get through somehow before Longwei and the dogs got to them! They had no idea what was about to happen!

His son snorted and pawed at the ground one last time.

 _I understand,_ Po told him as he concentrated on making his thoughts a string that would roll out and connect with him; a string of imaginary Chi that he could grab onto. _We're going to get you out of here._

To Po's surprise, Chao suddenly stopped. His breathing wasn't slowing down any, but he had calmed down enough to stop and _listen._ He glanced up and down in a confused manner as though he were looking for something, and reached out a claw to try and grab the invisible item that he was looking for.

Po followed his glances, equally confused when he couldn't see anything. It was like Chao was trying to find something that wasn't really there...a string of his Chi that he had just pictured...

...Wait...

Realization hit the Dragon Warrior like a catapult.

Words were not what Chao could directly communicate with— _pictures_ were what he used! Images, just like when Po had healed his leg injury and he had passed the information over that the volcano was going to explode; it hadn't been a 'vision' at all! Chao had known that something terrible was going to happen, and he could have only been able to communicate what that something was through his actions!

Po pictured the cuff strongly as he could in his mind and Chao glanced down, just like when he had said a single word to see what his son could and couldn't understand.

He pictured himself taking the dreaded cuff off like he had done the first time, and Chao bent downwards.

Po took a deep breath, a shiver running down his spine as Tigress and the Five caught up to the two in the arena at last, a few dogs lying sprawled out on the floor around them in pain after they had taken quite a beating from the Furious Five themselves. The rest of the dogs had run to try and find a way out if there wasn't already one that Po didn't know about, too afraid to stay and fight any longer.

Tigress stared at her son's bruised and broken form, the scars on his neck even worse and freshly opened. She moved forward slowly and Chao remained still, his father sending an image of her releasing him from his painful and personal prison.

There was one dog that they had forgotten in the midst of all the fear and panic.

Metal banged against metal before Tigress could rest a paw on Chao's neck to take the collar off, and the sharp end of a flaming hot sword nearly sliced the fur of her cheek.

 _Tigress!_ Po screamed inwardly to her when Longwei leaped into view, his orange-glowing sword gripped tightly in one gloved paw. Tigress had no choice but to back up as quick as she could, Longwei now directly in front of Chao.

Without second thought and before Po could even try to make a move, he turned and raised his sword in a threatening motion towards the stunned dragon.

"Come. _Now,"_ Longwei repeated from the night when he had taken Chao from his parents for the second time with a threat to put the cuff back on.

Chao whined in his bent position, too startled to have moved when his mother was attacked.

"Go back in the cage," Longwei ordered fiercely, his teeth showing. It was clear to Po that even with all the signs from inside that something was about to happen and the panic from the running dogs, he had no idea what was going on; he was just too determined to make sure that his prized fighter stayed where he was.

Chao didn't move. He shook along with the mountain itself and Po could only stand in place, too afraid to try anything should Longwei go after him, Chao or even Tigress.

His worst nightmare came true and everything around them seemed to disappear and slow down.

Longwei moved the sword gently and without even looking back from Chao, he rested the tip...against his wife's chest.

"I think you know what will happen if you don't listen," Longwei hissed menacingly.

Chao blinked, his eyes narrowing.

Po knew that the Dragon Slayer had made a mistake by imagining the most horrible thing he would do to Tigress if Chao didn't follow him into his cage.

Longwei barely had any time to react when his captive jumped forward at a blinding speed.

He could only watch, terrified, as Chao grabbed hold of Longwei's neck with a claw, bashing him with incredible force against the ground. His sword flew to the side; he was utterly defenseless.

 ** _You cannot control me anymore!_**

Po blinked in shock at the voice that boomed through his mind like the boom that he'd heard when Chao had tried to warn him about the impending destruction that the volcano would bring.

A voice so loud, he was sure that Longwei must have heard it, too.

The Dragon Slayer managed to break free of Chao's strong grip, rushing backwards with real fear in his brown eyes that Po had never seen in him since they had first met.

Chao continued to advance, his eyes full of hate and anger that couldn't be controlled.

Soon he had Longwei exactly where he wanted him—right in between himself and a wall where he couldn't escape. Flaring, Chao ignited a flame deep inside that he fully intended to let loose on his captor.

The gas in his throat built up and up until it was almost ready to be released in all its fury—

 ** _STOP!_** Po screamed so loud that he was sure he'd caused more tremors in the volcano that weren't natural.

 _I know he hurt you,_ the Dragon Warrior began in the most calm and subdued voice that he could muster. Chao stood in place, tense but listening.

He was _listening._ Chao could finally understand...or had he always understood but chose not to listen, or had he been too _afraid_ to reply? It took everything that Po had not to change back to his panda form and break down in sobs at this new revelation.

 _Longwei took you from us. What he's done can never be taken back, but violence isn't the answer. You're not like him..._

Po paused, trying the best that he could to keep himself together, his legs far too wobbly and tears threatening to escape.

 _You're my son._

Chao panted. He broke eye contact with his father and glanced back down to his kidnapper, soon after looking back to Po.

The Dagon Warrior's breath caught and his heart stopped when a new, unrecognizable voice entered his mind. Tigress hadn't said a word and neither had the Five, the group standing in just as much shock to everything that had taken place.

 _...Baba?_

It was a voice. A young voice, and in his heart, Po knew that the voice could only belong to one whose mouth hadn't moved in the slightest to speak.

 _Chao?_ Po questioned just to be sure, his legs shaking so hard he feared that he would collapse.

For the second time since Chao had first uttered the word as a cub in his crib, he was hearing his son speak.

He sounded so small...so afraid...so childlike...he _was_ just a child...

The others were too far away to stop Longwei from surging towards his sword that had fallen out of his grip close by, and Tigress's entire world came to a crushing halt.

Like Longwei, Chao had no time to react to the dog's lightning-fast and completely unexpected action as he dove the burning sword deep into his chest before he could spin back around to face his kidnapper. Po could only stare at the horrific sight ahead, eyes wider than they had ever been before.

 _"You force other dragons to kill them for you. You're no Dragon Slayer,"_ he remembered saying to his enemy just hours earlier.

Longwei grinned in triumph, saddened by the fact that the screaming crowd had not been there to witness his latest accomplishment.

The Dragon Slayer had finally slayed his first dragon.


	19. Chapter 19

Longwei unsheathed his sword from the spot where it had been perfectly engraved in the center of Chao's chest. The dragon let out what sounded like a cross between a grunt and a whimper, falling limp to the ground—he didn't get up.

The sudden urge to kill and take instant revenge nearly overtook Po, but all he could see was Chao. His baby boy that he hadn't seen for so long; six years of _worrying_ and _wondering_ where he was. He had been in a _volcano_ the entire time, forced to stay in his dragon form and had been tormented by a Dragon Slayer who had finally lived up to his name.

How could he do that to a child?!

It was either go after the one who had done this...or try to save his son in the miniscule amount of time that he had. Chao was still alive, he _had_ to be!

 _Tigress, help me..._ he sobbed as he ran towards his fallen son. He completely ignored the dog who was holding his glinting sword that shone red—the only thing he knew was that he had to get to Chao before it was too late.

The Five had other ideas, running as fast as they could towards the Dragon Slayer to knock him over. Once again, he barely had any time to react to the sudden onslaught of attacks, losing his grip on his sword for the second time. He growled in frustration, bringing a paw to his mouth. He whistled, and a great roar reverberated the mountain that was beginning to fall apart.

A pure black dragon swooped into view—Longwei's second dragon—and the Dragon Slayer leaped onto its back without any hesitation to escape the assaults that were thrown at him left and right.

Crane screeched in anger, powering his wings so he could match the dragon's speed until he was soaring next to the great beast, determined to keep its master from escaping. As though Crane were an ant or an annoying fly, it simply swatted its tail at him from behind, pumping its own wings to gain speed until it reached the volcano's open tip.

Crane managed to balance himself before hitting the ground, cursing when Longwei and the dragon vanished from sight.

Tigress had been standing in shock through it all, hardly able to move. She was frozen in place, and Po could tell that she was having a hard time comprehending what had just transpired between her son and the dog who had kidnapped him.

 _Tigress,_ Po pleaded, curling his large body around his blood-stained son as if it would somehow help him, if he could somehow tighten himself to a point where it would stop the bleeding. There was so much _blood,_ and the smell of copper that wafted from the warm and wet liquid made him want to throw up just by the fact that such a sheer pool of it was pouring from his little baby.

"But Longwei..." she growled, fists clenching. Her chest hurt. Her heart hurt...it _hurt_ so much and she wanted nothing more than to go after the one who had caused her family so much pain, but she just couldn't tear her eyes away from Chao.

 _He's still breathing!_

His statement snapped all her attention back to him like a whiplash, and she forced herself to kneel besides her fading son. They could go after Longwei later; Chao needed them now more than ever! She couldn't leave him!

 _Chi...we have to use our Chi...everyone's Chi,_ Po said in a rush. He didn't know how it was possible, but he could feel a pulse from the still form beneath him. It was faint and weak, but it was still there. Chao was still breathing...he was still _alive,_ and every second they wasted was a chance that he wasn't going to make it.

"Po, it's too deep and he's too big...Chi won't be enough to heal him!" Tigress cried, placing a paw over her son's forehead. He was hot...a scorching fever had already begun, most likely given to him from the thousand-degree burning and metal sword that Longwei had plunged into his chest. Besides the fact that the wound was huge, there was also the fact that they would risk their own lives in the process of healing him.

 _We have to do something!_

He was not going to sit and do nothing while his son was dying. The gaping and bloody wound was too big even with everyone's Chi combined, and nothing would be enough...but they had to _try!_ Chao shuddered and Po gripped his body tighter around him as if it would keep his soul attached to the world—he was close to entering the Spirit Realm.

 _Hang on,_ Po encouraged, his brain firing any ideas that he possibly think of. _I know you can._

Chao had two forms—his 'panger' form and his dragon form. Po assumed that he was no longer able to change back to his first form due to staying in his dragon form for so long, but what if he _could?_ The transformation would make Chao a lot smaller—thus the injury would be smaller, too.

 _Tigress, I have an idea,_ Po told her, hope beginning to build.

"What is it?" she questioned wearily, not daring to get her hopes up. Chao was too far gone...there was no way that he could possibly be saved!

 _I'm going to help Chao change back,_ he explained. _He needs a vest once he does._

"But Po..." Tigress knew what he was hinting at. If he was successful in helping Chao change back to his first and original form, the cub was going to need a fireproof vest. He would no longer be a dragon, so he would not be able to take the heat of the volcano. He would be weak and fragile, but they could help him in his smaller form with their Chi.

Tigress nodded slowly in understanding, and Po began his work. The Five gave their comrade support, staying nearby and sending positive energy towards the wounded dragon.

Po pictured Chao in his cub form as he had last remembered him before his markings had changed as he had grown into his dragon side over the years.

 _I don't know if you can hear me Chao, but all you have to do is imagine...a white cub with black stripes and eye patches. He has faint black freckles around his nose and orange spots...he's small, and he has a sister who looks almost exactly the same. Twins, but not quite._

Chao twitched in his dazed sleep. Po took it as a sign that somehow, his son really _could_ hear him.

 _He has beautiful yellow eyes just like his mom..._

Tigress smiled slightly, and Po could feel vibrations from underneath him.

There was a bright, golden flash—and the weight of Chao's dragon form lessened considerably.

"Po...I love you," Tigress's words reached his ears. "Always keep him safe."

He glanced at her in confusion, wondering why it sounded like she was about to make a big sacrifice—

Because she was.

 _No!_ he screamed, his heart skipping a beat. She had taken off her vest until there was only her red and gold robe that the dogs probably hadn't bothered to have her replace—and it wasn't fireproof!

With all the strength that she could muster, Tigress rested her vest over the tiny form that now resided in Po's curled body.

Chao's dragon form had disappeared—Po had successfully managed to help him change back into a panger cub.

Po knew that she couldn't feel, but it was clear to him and the Five that the volcano's unbearable heat was already taking its toll.

 _I—I could have..._

His mind was racing. He had planned to change back and give Chao his own vest himself. He was a dragon; he didn't even _need_ his vest!

"Po, we don't have time," she told him firmly. "We have to do this now."

Without any further hesitation, she placed her paws over her son's red-stained chest. He was so tiny...so weak...

The Five gathered around them, and they closed their eyes in concentration. Po remained in dragon form, putting every ounce of energy that he had towards the hole in his son's chest that had shrunken in size.

It was working. It was _working!_

The open hole was closing. The red around them was disappearing until finally, it vanished from sight altogether. Chao released a relieved sigh in his sleep, and it was then that Po knew he was going to make it—that Chao had survived the impossible.

The frail form of Tigress told him that his wife wasn't as lucky. She was still awake, but she could barely stand from her spot next to Chao.

"We have to go," she whispered.

They didn't need to be told twice.

Tigress silently and delicately took Chao into her arms, and Po bent downwards so she could step onto his back.

"Uh, guys, is it just me or is the lava getting higher?" Mantis asked as he gazed down below at the rising firepit.

He was right.

The mountain rumbled, and the firepit below them was higher than it had ever been before.

"Po, wait!" Viper called. "What about the other dragons? We can't just leave them here..."

They were still stuck in their cages. It only took Po a second of thinking to make his decision—they were going to need the other dragons to take care of Longwei, and he had a feeling that the tortured creatures would be happy to help them take down their enemy.

 _We have to get them out, too._


	20. Chapter 20

It didn't take much to release the dragons. All the Dragon Warrior had to do was thrust each locked cage open with what little remaining Chi he had.

Two bursts for the red and gray dragons who had bowed so graciously to him in the arena, and who deserved to be set free just as much as Chao. He had a feeling deep inside that his son had some kind of bond with the gray being. It looked to the small bundle in Tigress's arms with an almost worried expression, and Po knew then that he had made the right choice to set them free.

His decision had come with a price. Tigress was suffering without her vest to help keep her cool and to help her breathe, and he had to get her out of there along with the Five. Her grip on his back as she held the tiny shape in her arms was lessening. The two other dragons followed close behind, unsure of what to do without their original 'leader,' but knowing that the Dragon Warrior was now the one that they should follow. He had shown them mercy and had set them free—they owed him their lives.

The group couldn't get far enough away from the doomed mountain. It was as if the volcano was crumbling from the side and expanding—expanding until it would eventually explode like Po had predicted it would.

They found a temporary sanctuary in the same spot where Longwei and his army of dogs had surrounded them. The canine army had most likely run in fear of the volcano, but Po knew there was a big chance that the Dragon Slayer was still around; they couldn't stay for long. Monkey and Crane helped to slide Tigress down off of Po's back, her grip on the bundle in her arms tighter as she regained her strength now that she was outside in fresh air.

"He still has his collar on..." She murmured when she spotted the painful cuff still wrapped tightly around his neck. In all their worrying to heal his wound, they had forgotten all about the tortuous device, and she was surprised that it hadn't fallen off after he had transformed into a smaller size.

The gray dragon moved closer. Tigress moved back in a protective motion away from the gigantic reptile. She knew that it meant no harm, but it had still been a creature of the Dragon Slayer's; it was the very same dragon who had first kidnapped Chao, and who had attempted to kill Po. She just couldn't bring herself to forget those two facts, so it was instinct that she had to protect her baby.

The gray dragon let out a soft whine. She thought she could hear a voice in her mind like when she could talk to Po...

 _I just want to help,_ it said. It was nothing more than an echo, and soon it fluttered away with the wind.

Tigress forced herself to stay still as the gray dragon made its way towards her again. It moved slower this time in a way that let her know that it meant no harm to herself or Chao. It bent its head downward towards the tiny shape, and with a large claw it picked the collar's lock open with ease. Tigress knew that Po couldn't have used his Chi; none of them could. They were all tired, worn out from everything that had happened. She wondered how many times it had wanted to take Chao's collar off before, but couldn't—not when Longwei or the other dogs were around. She realized then that these dragons were all in this together. They had been through so much, and had survived against every dragon that Longwei forced them to fight.

They had fought for their lives and thanks to the Dragon Warrior...now they were finally free, even the gray dragon who Longwei had given a little bit of leash but could never have fully left his home. With a pang, she had another realization that these two dragons—including her son—were the only ones left out of who knew how many dragons that Longwei had forced into the fighting arena.

The cuff clattered to the ground like the first that Po had released from Chao's neck.

Tigress looked up, staring into the gray dragon's dark eyes; they reminded her a bit of Po's spirit side, but she knew now that looks could be deceiving.

"Thank you," she whispered gratefully, "for looking out for him." The dragon had been there for her son when she couldn't have. A warm blanket of emotion was rested over her—the gray dragon regretted taking Chao, so it had done all it could for her little boy while he had been in Longwei's clutches like a student and teacher—or a father and a son.

She faintly wondered if the gray dragon had a name. Longwei hadn't called his dragons by any sort of handle, and she was somewhat grateful that he apparently hadn't given her son a name to go by. Dragons were nothing but weapons to the dog, so why _should_ he give them names?

In a split second, she made a decision to give him one.

"Guiren," she stated in respect. It was a name worthy of such a dragon—'looking out for others,' and that was exactly what Guiren had done for her son.

Guiren rumbled a quiet thank you in return. she glanced to the side, only to see that the red dragon had disappeared.

Po had stood by, still in his own dragon form.

 _He's still around,_ he assured her with a gentle smile. _We have to get away from here and warn the Valley._

Tigress nodded and relayed his message to the Five.

"We have to warn the Valley and get everyone out."

"Tigress, what's going on?" Viper asked, her tone worried.

Tigress sighed, a stab of pain shooting through her chest as air released; the volcano's heat had certainly done its job. There was no way that she could answer her friend's question lightly—she had to be straightforward and honest.

"He said that the volcano is going to destroy everything."

"What?!" the Five cried all at once. They certainly hadn't been expecting _that!_

"How are we going to stop a _volcano?"_ Monkey asked in a panic. "We can't!"

"How does he even _know_ that it's going to reach the Valley?" Mantis questioned suspiciously.

"We can't just evacuate an entire Valley without any proof," Crane said, obviously reluctant about the whole thing. The volcano was going to explode, sure—but how could it reach a place that was so far away?

 _Are you serious?_ Po thought to himself. They didn't have any time left!

In a green flash, he changed so he could yell.

"Because I've _seen it!"_ he shouted at the top of his lungs. It was a bad idea to tell the truth, he knew. No one was supposed to know too much of their future, but Oogway had never told him that he _couldn't_ tell anyone. The tortoise hadn't mentioned any consequences if he _did._ This was a life or death situation!

"...Through a vision?" Tigress asked. She trusted Po to always tell her the truth, but this was a little far-fetched.

"No...I actually saw it," he said, lowering his gaze to the rocky ground.

"Po, what are you talking about?" Tigress demanded, holding Chao close. He still hadn't stirred one bit, and she was starting to get even more worried than she already was. What if something was wrong? His sword wound was gone; completely healed. But Chao had been a dragon for nearly his whole life. What if the transformation had only made things worse?

"Remember that 'crazy dream' I told you about? Well, it wasn't a dream," Po said. He looked absolutely serious. He wasn't kidding. There were only a few rare times where the panda completely dropped his silly nature—when he knew that things were bad.

"Tigress...you don't remember. None of you do except me. I was stuck in my dragon form because of the end of the world. After I saved the world, I had to go to sleep for a thousand years in order to save it again. And again and again...the process would have repeated if I hadn't met..."

He let out a shuddering sigh at the thought of his two friends.

"...If I hadn't met Chao and Lotus. Chao wasn't a student in my kung fu class, Tigress. It was true that he was a tiger. He had an adopted panda brother named Lotus. They were the ones who gave me the idea to make the universe immortal, and I used Kai to do it. He escaped from my prison that I'd accidentally left him in for a thousand years, and the universe wanted to send me back home in return for making it immortal."

"But if the universe is immortal now...then why is the volcano going to explode?" Mantis questioned. He didn't get it and none of it made any sense!

"Oogway said that families and situations would be brought together again by fate. Tigress...Chao was your descendant," Po answered, still with a look that meant he was all-out serious. "He was who I named our son after, and our Lotus after his brother. If it hadn't been for Lotus, I would still be stuck in my dragon form."

He took a cautious step towards her. She took a step back, her eyes wide.

"I'm sorry I lied to you," Po apologized with every ounce of sincerity that he had. "But everything I just told you is true. We have to get back home now. You have to believe me..."

Tigress took another step back, her eyes wide and still unblinking, cradling Chao closer to her chest. Po wouldn't blame her if she didn't believe a word that he said...but her next words surprised him and sent a shiver of relief and shock down his spine.

"...I believe you, Po."

"You do?" he asked, his own eyes growing wide.

"Yes. Ever since you came back from saving the world, I've been having these strange feelings of Déjà vu—like I'd already been in a certain place or had done certain things again. When you told me about your dream...it all came back to me then."

"...You've known all this time?" he questioned again just to be sure. Why hadn't she talked to him about it?

"I remember, Po...all of it." She clung onto him like a lifeline, and he placed a paw gently on his sleeping son's healed chest. "My life without you...the volcano...we had no warning...it just _happened_ and there was so much _destruction_...I barely made it out with...with my family." She felt like she was going to fall over. "It's going to happen all over again."

The Five didn't know what to say. Unlike Tigress, they couldn't remember anything about having a past life, but they knew that her words rang true.

"We have to warn everyone," she confirmed.

In a second green flash, Po was a dragon once more. Tigress climbed onto his back in a slow manner, still weak from the volcano's heat.

Guiren lowered his body as an invitation for the Five to climb aboard. No time for hesitation, they accepted the dragon's offer, allowing Tigress and Chao all the space that Po's back provided.

They almost reached the Valley of Peace when an extremely loud _boom_ pierced their ears.

Po didn't need to look behind him to know that fate had finally met its due just as Chao had warned him it would.

The volcano had erupted.


	21. Chapter 21

Po couldn't help it. He had to look behind him and see the monster that was the volcano, the monster that was mercilessly going to destroy everything around him.

Looking back, Po sucked in a deep breath of fresh air that was soon going to be blowing ash straight to them...

But he didn't see anything.

There wasn't any smoke in the distance, which he thought was odd. If the volcano had erupted, wouldn't there be dark smoke everywhere, especially shooting towards the Jade Palace?

He made a landing on the palace steps, happy to see one of his dads rushing out of the entrance towards them.

Li's eyes widened at the sight of Guiren, instantly taking a few steps back.

"It's okay...he's with us now," Tigress assured the panda as calmly as she could from atop Po's shoulders, though it was hard to remain calm with the knowledge that she carried.

"What happened? Is he okay?" Li asked when he took in the frail and tiny shape of Chao. "You found him!"

"We did," Tigress confirmed. She knew she should be happy. They had found Chao and had gotten him out of the volcano, gotten him away from the one who had taken him from them—but she just couldn't be happy with the knowledge that a raging mountain was going to destroy everything she loved. "Longwei forced him to change into a dragon. Po helped him change back and he hasn't woken up yet."

"Speaking of changing into a dragon," Li started, "there's something I need to tell you about Lotus—"

It was obviously apparent that Po wasn't paying attention. The golden dragon had his head turned to the side, and he was looking towards the direction that they had come.

"Po, we have to get to Lotus and get everyone out," Tigress told her husband. She was still in her position atop his back, so she couldn't exactly go anywhere unless Po bent down.

 _The volcano..._ he said to her through their mental link.

"What?" she questioned, craning her neck so she could try and see his expression. He was too big and she couldn't strain her body any further to get a good look at his face.

 _The volcano...it hasn't erupted yet!_

"What do you mean? We heard the boom!"

 _That boom we heard wasn't the volcano...I think it was caused by the tremors that we kept feeling._

"That just means we have all the more time to send out a warning! We need to go!"

"I'm with her," Mantis agreed. "I have no idea what Po just said, but I'm not going to sit and wait around anymore. Guys, we have to go and warn the Valley."

Crane nodded, preparing to launch himself off of Guiren's back so he could help send out a warning message to the entire Valley.

 _I'm not waiting, either. Tigress...I love you._

He hated to do this to her as she had done to him, but he _had_ to. The volcano still hadn't erupted, so that meant there was still a fighting chance. Still a chance that everything and everyone could be saved. Fate had been changed already by releasing the dragons from Longwei's volcanic prison and if he could change the fate of the dragons—then he could change the Valley's fate.

He moved his tail upwards as his idea continued to form, curling it gently around his wife's body. She gripped Chao tighter so he wouldn't fall out of her arms.

"What are you doing?!" she shouted when it registered that Po had set her back to the ground.

 _Always keep them safe._

"Wait!" she screamed. He didn't listen, bending down to take off from the Jade Palace steps—

A roar suddenly sounded and a black shape blurred his vision. Po reeled backwards in shock, nearly careening into the group behind him.

 _Tigress, get everyone out of here!_ Po shouted in his mind. She hesitated but complied, leading Li away. Guiren took to the sky in another direction, the Five still safely perched atop his back.

Po shot up to face his competitor.

It was Longwei's dragon who had blocked him from going any further, and who was flapping its wings to keep itself steady in the air over the thousand step drop, snarling at its enemy.

Po was about to pounce and take it down to the ground when a shape moved out of the corner of his eye. Growling, he could see the dragon's master himself—and he was attempting to enter the Jade Palace! He was going to try and take Chao back, not to mention Lotus—and Po wasn't about to let that happen. He made brief eye contact and the dog grinned, creeping inside.

The black dragon screeched in anger when his opponent turned away to try and reach its master. It raised its wings, shoving them downwards so he could propel himself upward.

Po blanched when the dragon landed directly in front of him, blocking his way into the palace entrance and from getting to Longwei. He let out a threatening rumble, preparing to launch forward in attack.

Before he could make a leap, a red blur flew out of nowhere, tackling the black dragon to the side. Shocked, Po blinked to make sense of the fact that the red dragon had come to his rescue. He'd known that the huge reptile had been floating behind them on the way to the palace, but in all their hurry to return, it had slipped his mind. The two dragons reeled and tumbled, clawing and biting. A faint thought crossed Po's mind that after everything was all over, the palace was going to need yet another renovation.

Then he took his chance. He surged ahead into the open hallway straight for the Dragon Slayer, extending his claws the second the dog came into his view again. Po tightened his grip and activated his flight, leaping off of the Jade Palace steps like he had originally planned to do.

"Put me down!" Longwei growled in a shout, struggling with all his might to release himself from the Dragon Warrior's hold. Unsuccessful, all he could do was dangle from the claws that held him captive. He clearly hadn't expected two of his dragons to switch sides, and for another to take him for a ride high in the air.

 _No way,_ Po responded mentally to himself with a grin. There was no need to try and communicate fully to the Dragon Slayer that his end was approaching; the dog already knew, and he was putting up quite a fight. But without his dragons and his sword, there wasn't much that he could do.

Po held fast, speeding back towards the volcano that—at one point in the distance—was now getting closer. The mountain was still expanding; expanding past its breaking point, and trees were destroyed in the rubble as the mud and dirt plowed them down.

"What are you going to do? Throw me in the volcano?"

He was. He knew that it would be going against what he had told his son: that violence wasn't the answer. It was against his very nature to kill, but Po knew that this time was absolutely necessary, and that he couldn't just let Longwei go or keep him in prison. If there was a risk that he would break out like Tai Lung and hurt his son or daughter again, Po wasn't going to spare his life.

He had to put an end to the Dragon Slayer, just as the Dragon Slayer had put an end to so many innocent lives himself.

Po held him up over the top of the volcano, hesitating as conflict kept him from going through with the action. He could see the magma down below and it was bubbling, making its way towards the exit.

The Dragon Warrior closed his eyes and nose-dived inside, Longwei still screaming in his grip. He thought of the six years that his son was missing; all of the searching, worrying, not knowing and pain both physical and mental that Longwei had put them through. He thought of Chao alone in the dark and in a cage, forced to be something that he should have had the chance to choose between. He thought of the sword that Longwei had plunged deep into his son's chest, and it was then he knew that he had made the right decision.

 _I'm sorry. I can't let you hurt my family ever again._

Like Oogway had done to Kai, his former brother in arms—he was going to banish Longwei to the Spirit Realm, and hopefully the volcano along with the Dragon Slayer.

Po was face to face with the scorching hot lava when he concentrated on his panda form.

Green filled his vision behind closed eyelids as he let himself fall, no longer in control of his own flight. He positioned Longwei in the perfect spot so he could grab the dog's paw, flexing a finger outwards. All the while, he hoped and prayed that his plan would work whether or not he had the Dragon Slayer in his grip—that he could change fate for the better.

"Skadoosh."


	22. Chapter 22

"What do you mean you don't know where she is?!" Po questioned loudly to his father. Li had said that he needed to tell them something important about Lotus and that she was in the noodle shop, but when Po had arrived, she was nowhere to be seen, neither in the dining area or his bedroom.

He'd just gotten his son back, and now his daughter was _missing?_

Mr. Ping was just as livid and terrified. "She was right here! She must have run off—"

Po was already out of the shop, and he finally found her in a clearing nearby. His heart had nearly stopped when Mr. Ping said he didn't know where she was, that she had managed to get out of his shop somehow to try and hide. She had changed into a dragon while he was away, and he was sorry and guilty that he had missed such an 'occasion'—but it wasn't such an occasion for her. She had woken up in her cub form, but then had taken off into the forest before Mr. Ping could catch her.

He wanted to scream and yell at her never to run away and scare him like that again but she made eye contact, and his heart broke at just how _terrified_ she looked.

"Daddy, I can't control it, I—" her words turned to growls and she was a little black and white dragon with orange spots again, struggling to fight against her transformations. She was spinning wildly around in circles, trying to grab at her tail as if the action would somehow help her change back.

Po thought fast—she was panicking, and he didn't want her to hurt herself. He didn't want her to be afraid of her dragon half like he had once been afraid of his. It was a part of who he was, who _she_ was.

So he changed. He bent down his head and gave his daughter a gentle nudge. She calmed slightly at his touch and turned around, fearful green eyes widening to find herself face to face with her father in his own dragon form. He smiled and placed his head lightly against hers, closing his eyes.

 _I'm scared,_ he heard Lotus say through her thoughts. Only one transformation and she already knew how to communicate through her mind? Po was impressed that it had come so naturally to her. _I can't control it like you can._

She had only heard stories of his transformations and had actually seen him transform once when she had found Chao, but she knew that he had a better handle on it than her. Even her brother had more experience, though he had remained a dragon over the years with not as much knowledge about how to change back to his cub form—until Po had helped to guide him through the process after Longwei's sword attack.

 _It's alright,_ he comforted. _It's alright. There's nothing to be afraid of. You know, maybe one day you'll be able to fly, too._

He felt her fear fade and her head perked up, interest taking over. _Really?_

Po nodded, rumbling in a laugh.

 _But how do we fly if we don't have wings?_

He'd never thought about that before. _That's a good question. Whenever I fly, I don't even think about it. I just jump and take off into the sky. It's like second nature, I guess._

 _I love you, daddy._

His smile widened and his heart expanded. _I love you, too. More than you'll ever know. Please don't ever run away like that again, okay?_

 _I'm sorry,_ she whimpered.

He could feel that her fear was finally defeated, nothing more than a thing of the past. It might take her more time to get used to these new 'developments' —but she was making a lot of progress already for her first time changing into a dragon.

She snuggled against his chest, purring with her eyes closed in content. Suddenly there was a green flash—a green flash just like her father's whenever he would change, he noticed—and she was back to her original form. Po smiled once again and switched back along with her, carefully taking his daughter into his arms so they could return to the Jade Palace.

"Great job, little Lotus," he praised proudly in a quiet whisper.

He was met with the sight of Tigress at their bedroom door. He stopped in his tracks, trying to read her expression. She looked tired. Tired—but relieved. That had to be good, right?

"He's waking up," she said in a soft laugh. He leaned into her body so their sleeping Lotus was in the middle of the two of them.

He decided that he would tell Tigress about her little 'adventure' later.

xxxx

"Hey," Po said gently in a quiet gasp as Chao began to stir at last. "You're awake!" He was sitting with Tigress, holding a sleeping Lotus in his arms. The four of them were finally all together as an entire family, just as it _should_ have been all those years ago.

Chao blinked rapidly, trying to make sense of his surroundings in the room and on the bed. It was clear that he was confused that he was no longer inside of a burning volcano or anywhere near a fighting arena...or inside of a cage.

The cub lifted a trembling paw to his face. His eyes widened, and he turned his fearful gaze to his father.

"...Baba?" he asked, his voice barely a whisper. It was dry and scratchy, but he was talking. He was awake and he was _talking_...he was alive and he was _okay._

Tears stung, but Po forced them back. "Y—yeah, I'm here. Your mom is, too."

Chao let out a quivering sigh. "E—everything hurts..."

Po knew that everything hurt for him not just because Longwei had pierced his chest with a burning hot sword, but because he wasn't used to his original form as a cub.

"I know, I know...it's going to be okay...you're going to be okay..."

Maybe not right away, but Po and Tigress were both willing to help their son however long it took to mend what Longwei had broken.

"The—the volcano...it didn't explode?" Chao questioned, eyes wide as memories of the mountain came rushing back to him.

"Nope. I skadoosh'd it so it couldn't hurt anything...or anyone," Po said with a small grin. He couldn't believe it, but the Wuxi Finger Hold had been successful. It _worked._ The volcano had disappeared, and the Valley of Peace was safe; it would never become the Forbidden Zone again.

Chao tilted his head to the side. "What's Skadoosh?"

Po's grin increased tenfold. "Maybe I'll teach you when you're older."

He ignored Tigress's frown. "I'm kidding," he whispered.

"...What about Master?" Chao asked quietly.

Po flinched, Tigress following suit. She couldn't believe that her son had thought of Longwei as his master; the Dragon Slayer had _never_ been worthy of such a title.

"He's gone. He's never going to hurt you or the dragons ever again," Po assured him.

Chao sniffed. He quivered, and Po and Tigress were shocked—yet not surprised—to see tears begin to roll down his cheeks. Their hearts cracked at just how _relieved_ he was to hear that there was no one who was going to hurt him. No one who was going to put a painful cuff around his neck. Chao had been through more than any six year old should have gone through—but he was finally _free_ and reunited with his family who had missed him just as much as he had missed them, knowing that _something_ had been taken from him.

"Hey, it's okay. Please don't cry..." Po attempted to comfort his son, reaching his arms out. He wanted to wrap Chao into a hug, but he knew he had to allow his wounds to heal. There was no evidence that he had ever been struck by a sword, but he could tell that Chao was still tender. He couldn't exactly reach forward far enough while he was holding the little shape of his daughter, either.

The bundle in his arms began to squirm as if she had known that her father had started to think of her, and Chao's tears gradually faded into the background.

"You want to meet your sister?" He asked as Lotus opened her bright jade eyes in a sort of sleepy stupor. Chao sniffled and nodded, and Po positioned her so that she could easily see her long lost brother for the second time since she had found him in the forest.

"Hi, Chao," she whispered with a big smile stretched all the way across her features.

Chao tilted his head to the side once more, confusion taking him over yet again as his tears fully subsided. "What's Chao? I remember that's what daddy called me..."

Po and Tigress gaped sorrowfully, but Lotus only laughed. She didn't understand that it was sad he had never known his own name, that he had never even _had_ a name in the six years he had been trapped in Longwei's clutches.

"That's your name, silly," Lotus giggled. "It's who you are!"

Chao glanced to his father, confusion still written over his expression. It was still there, but it was slowly starting to fade.

Po nodded. "She's right."

"I'm happy we found you," Lotus whispered.

"Be gentle," Tigress told her when she wrapped her arms around her brother in a hug.

Chao stiffened at the contact but seemed to accept the gesture, hugging his sister lightly in return. "I'm glad I have a sister. And a mommy and daddy."

Tigress had never allowed their children to sleep with them before the Dragon Slayer had come into their lives and had stolen a piece of their hearts, but tonight was an exception.

Po couldn't stop staring at their lost and found son sleeping soundly between them, Lotus curled into a little ball on the top of his stomach so as not to risk bumping into her sensitive brother during the night. Tigress, equally unable to fall asleep, smiled brightly at her husband until sleep finally won the two over.

The reunited family had never slept more soundly than they had that night.


	23. Chapter 23

"Wanna see a really cool place?"

Po had decided to take Chao to his secret spot that was originally meant for him and Tigress. Even after a few weeks, his son was still recovering from all that he'd been through, and he needed quiet time. What better place for quiet time than a secret spot? Tigress didn't mind, so she stayed with Lotus at the Jade Palace.

It was clear that while Chao was happy to be away from the volcano, he was still getting used to a non-tortuous life without any cuffs, cages or arenas. He was terrified of the dark, so his mother and father had to light a candle or two at bedtime.

He was terrified of being alone, so one or both of them had to stay with him at all times. If they couldn't be there for some odd reason, then one of the Furious Five, Shifu, Li and Mr. Ping, the other pandas or even Bao and Lei Lei stuck with him, helping to keep his mind off of bad times and focusing more on the good.

They never left his side for anything.

"Wow," Chao said in awe as Po let him down from his shoulders. The cub's eyes widened at the sight of the grassy hill that his father knew so well, and Po smiled as his son felt the soft and cool grass beneath his feet.

The panda led him to the hill's edge so they could sit. Chao shivered, still not used to the cool air around him after being trapped inside of a heated mountain for so long.

"You okay?" Po asked gently, positioning himself so he was sitting just inches away. Chao gave a small nod, but Po knew that something was bothering him. What exactly that something was, Po didn't know...it could be a lot of things.

Wind blew by and he shivered for a second time.

"I heard you, daddy," he said out of the blue.

Po was confused, and Chao could tell. He explained without even needing to be asked.

"When you helped me change back...I heard you."

Po's heart throbbed.

Then the tears came again.

xxxx

The dragons were restless.

Po had no clue what had gotten into the two of them, but they were practically bouncing off the walls (metaphorically, since they were too big to fit inside anywhere.) Guiren and Flame—as Lotus had affectionately named the red dragon—were the only two left after Flame himself had managed to take down Longwei's black dragon. Po was sad that the black dragon had been too far gone into the ways of Longwei, but it had to be done.

"Someone's excited to see you," he laughed as he walked outside with Chao holding his paw. The panger cub was greeted joyfully by Guiren, who rumbled loudly and jumped from side to side. "Easy, easy."

The dragons were welcome to stay near the palace. They had resided in the forest until Chao was well enough to start walking, just so long as they did not harm any of the villagers. They still had to hunt, and they needed a large amount of food to quench their hunger; it appeared that they were not used to eating in such quantities with Longwei always withholding food from them. They were uncertain at first of their newfound freedom, but it didn't take long for the two to begin to soar endlessly around the Valley of Peace—much to the villagers' unease.

But to Po and Tigress's relief, the dragons left their people alone. Longwei was gone—the volcano was gone, and since Flame and Guiren were hovering about the Valley along with the famous Dragon Warrior, crime rates had dropped drastically. There was nothing to worry about for the time being—they could focus at last on what was really important: Chao's recovery.

Tigress made her way outside with her husband and son, keeping a close eye on a certain little Lotus. So as not to risk hurting the Jade Palace with the dragons' massive sizes, they had decided to take Chao and his sister down to the clearing to meet them.

Chao released himself from Po's hold and ran to Guiren without any hesitation; the size difference amazed Po and how his son showed absolutely no fear towards the gray dragon who was three times bigger than him while he was in his cub form. Chao hadn't tried to change back into a dragon since his return, but Po could tell that he was uncomfortable as a cub which was perfectly understandable; it was going to take time to get used to his original form again.

Guiren let out a happy purr, nuzzling Chao gently on his cheek.

"Hi...Guiren," Chao said, the name awkwardly rolling off of his tongue. During their time with Longwei, dragons had never had any names. They simply went by each other's scents. Chao liked names better; they were a lot easier to go by. "Where's Flame?"

Guiren let out another rumble, pointing his nose towards the sky.

"I'm sure he'll be back soon," Po assured the cub. Flame was most likely out hunting again; the dragon had been gone for a few days now, and he could tell that Chao was starting to get worried.

Guiren turned his attention back to Chao. His dark eyes were bright, and his wings looked almost transparent in the shining sun. The dragon was communicating something to Chao, who gladly translated his rumbles and growls into actual words so his parents could understand. Since Po had called upon his Dragon Warrior spirit, he now had a better understanding of their language, but it was still hard to piece together.

"He says he's sorry for taking me..." Chao said slowly, trying to read his parents' expressions. They stood still, listening quietly to every word. "Mast—Longwei made him do it...he never wanted to take me..."

Tigress stiffened slightly. Back in the arena, she had felt Guiren's emotions and had seen his thoughts in a way that she never expected to see them. Yet the dragon still wanted to personally apologize? She was touched.

"We understand," Tigress responded, her tone gentle. Guiren looked to her, relief crossing his features. "You didn't want to do it, but you had to..." Previously, she had been unsure whether or not that she would ever forgive the dragon who had stolen her son from her.

Now she was sure.

A roar from overhead sounded, and the large shape of Flame finally made himself known. He pounded the ground in a landing besides Guiren, and Po and Tigress had to stop themselves from running to Chao just in case he was squashed. Flame was always precise with his landings, however, and Chao was completely safe with the two dragons.

Flame snorted and pawed the ground, a gesture that Po had come to understand that meant something bad or exciting was happening—since their current threats were eliminated, Po guessed that Flame was _excited_ about something and he was trying to tell them.

Chao was more than happy to translate, but the cub's eyes soon grew wide and his lower lip suddenly trembled.

Tigress ran straight to him, Po staying behind with Lotus.

"What is it?" She asked in a rush. Chao shook his head, trying not to cry.

"They're leaving," he said in a quiet whisper.

His parents glanced at each other.

"As in...not staying?" Po questioned. Well, Flame was sure in a hurry. The large reptile obviously hadn't thought about how it would affect their friend—no, a part of their _family._

"He says that he might have found other dragons," Chao explained, his eyes shining as tears threatened to break loose. Po couldn't tell whether they were actually sad or happy tears. Sad because his dragon family was leaving, or happy that they had possibly found others of their kind. As Shifu had once told him, dragons were extremely rare and hadn't been seen for thousands of years until they'd—ironically—met the Dragon Slayer.

He definitely wasn't expecting Chao's next words, and his heart skipped a beat in shock.

"...They want me to go with them."


	24. Chapter 24

_So here it is. The series is finally complete at last! I would like to say a big thank you to everyone who has reviewed, faved, followed or simply read this story! It's been quite a ride, and is definitely the longest thing I've ever written if you combine these four stories together (with "The Legend Begins" being the longest in the series.)_

 _I couldn't have done it without you and I'm really going to miss working on this—yes, this is truly the end; I think this is a good place to really end it. I may or may not have future KFP stories in the works that are not linked to this series...we'll see ;)_

xxxx

"He's only six years old!" Tigress had to stop herself from growling. "We just got him back...the Valley of Peace is his home!"

"He was _taken_ from his home!" Po shouted over her cries. Tigress had reacted just as Po had expected her to: she was angry. Angry at Longwei. Angry at the dragons for wanting to take her son away from her yet _again,_ the only difference being that this time, they were willing to let Chao choose what he wanted.

Just like she and Po had to let him choose what he wanted no matter how angry they were and no matter how much they wanted him to stay.

Her anger dissolved into pure worry. Chao was still outside with the dragons. Lotus had fallen asleep in her bed, even though she had tried her hardest to stay awake. Flame and Guiren were waiting for him to make a choice, just as they had to make the choice to force him to stay or to let him go.

Force. Po didn't like that word. He knew that force was what it would be if he and Tigress made Chao stay if he wanted to go.

"And six years old is an adult in dragon form...I think," Po thought aloud more to himself than to his wife. It explained why Chao had been so big in his dragon form. It was either that or the fact that he had been a dragon for most of his life, which had caused him to grow abnormally large for his age. While Lotus was in her own dragon form, she was smaller than her brother, so Po wasn't exactly sure.

Tigress sighed. She wasn't going to be easily swayed, so he continued.

"He was taken from us and put in another home. It might not have really been a home, but it was still his home. The volcano and the dragons are all he's ever known, Tigress. It was sad we lost him that day and what happened to him...but he grew up with a different family, and we can't just keep him from them."

Longwei had taken Chao from _them._ Who were they to take Chao away from the dragons? They were not like Longwei. Not at all.

You couldn't just trade your family.

"The dragons need a new leader," Po said softly, wrapping his arms around her waist. She stiffened at the contact, frozen by his words. "They need their own Dragon Warrior."

Tigress gripped him tighter, burying her face into his neck to unsuccessfully stop the oncoming tears.

"I know it's hard for you. It's hard for me, too. But we have to let him go..."

xxxx

The night was cool and crisp, though Chao was warm and cozy against Guiren's chest. The two dragons were lying on the ground side by side, on the verge of falling asleep.

Their heads perked up at the sound of Chao's parents approaching.

"...Chao?" Po asked quietly. The bundle in Guiren's arms moved, and the dragon inched closer to them so that Chao could crawl over to his mom and dad. Po had thought that he'd been asleep, but the cub was wide awake, his bright yellow eyes illuminating the darkness; it seemed that he'd been deep in thought.

Po took Chao into his arms since Tigress was holding their sleeping daughter. She wasn't able to look up from behind the protection of Lotus' fur, consumed with trying to stop her tears.

"...Do you want to go with them?" Po questioned, trying his best to stop his own tears from falling uncontrollably down his furry cheeks.

"I..." Chao faltered. He looked back to Guiren and Flame, the two watching the scene unfold before them. Po understood that Chao was conflicted just as much as his parents. After all this time, they had finally found him and brought him home...and now he was leaving? They had tried so hard to make him feel welcome and comfortable, but they knew deep in their hearts just as much as him that it wasn't working.

He belonged with another family in another form.

Tigress moved closer to her son, hanging onto Lotus as if her life depended on it. She pressed her forehead gently against his, squeezing her eyes shut.

She remembered everything. Po falling asleep for a thousand years. Her previous life without him and her family. The volcano exploding. She even remembered meeting Po again in the Spirit Realm, and how conflicted he was at that moment whether or not he should tamper with the flow of time to return to his home. She had sensed his true desire, and now she sensed her son's.

"You're free now," she whispered into his ear, bringing a paw up to push it gently against his chest, feeling as if a sword was piercing her own as she held Lotus in her other arm. "Is this what you want?"

Her heart plummeted as she felt the tiny shape of her son grow in size until he was no longer able to fit in her arms. Gold filled her vision, and a voice swept into her mind before she could open her eyes once more.

 _No matter where I go or what form I take, you will always be my mother._

The large dragon form of Chao turned to face his father.

 _I knew you were my father the minute you transformed the first time in the volcano._

Po took a deep breath, chills running down his spine at just how mature his baby boy sounded. He'd grown up too fast.

 _The same thing happened to me in the first year that I resided in the volcano._

Po's eyes widened.

 _That was how I knew you needed help. Guiren saved me, so I saved you._

The dragons had gotten up, restless once again at the sight of Chao in his black and white dragon form. His eye patches were back to white, and his stripes and spots had disappeared.

 _Mommy, daddy...I'll be okay. They'll keep me safe. We'll look out for each other. We need to go. We need to find out if there are others—others like us who need our help. We can't be the only dragons left._

Their breaths hitched as their son turned away.

Flame and Guiren bowed to their new leader: The Dragon Warrior.

Then they bent down and took to the sky—directly towards a full moon.

An ear-shattering roar was released from one of the three dragons, and Po and Tigress instantly knew that it had come from their son.

Their heavy hearts lifted and their eyes brightened.

Lotus woke in her mother's arms at the sudden noise.

"Where's Chao going?" she asked quietly. "Is he going to come back?"

Tigress hugged her closer and Po walked up to the two, his legs shaky.

"I know he will," the panda assured her. There was no reason he _couldn't_ come back to visit, right?

Tigress smiled the best that she could through her tears.

xxxx

"Are you sure you're going to be okay?" Po asked Lotus, reluctant to leave his daughter. He knew deep down that she would be okay with all the kids and teachers around, but he was still nervous.

Lotus nodded frantically, eager to catch up to her classmates that she had missed while she was away as they filed into the school. "I'll be fine, daddy!"

"Can't we just walk her inside?" Po nearly whined. "What if she doesn't get along with that one kid again?"

Tigress shook her head. "Let her go to the kids on her own. She'll figure things out."

Po couldn't bring himself to leave his daughter; he just _had_ to stay and see if she was okay, so he watched in stealth mode from behind the wall around the school when it was breaktime.

Lotus approached the one student that he had been worried about: the fox named Cheng who she'd gotten into a little fight with.

"I'm sorry I scratched you," she apologized as sincerely as she could. The fox stood alone before her, wearing a bandage across his cheek.

"I'm sorry I called you a mixed breed...and a freak..." Cheng mumbled. Lotus smiled.

"It actually looks kinda cool...wanna see?" Cheng asked. Before Lotus could say no, he tore the bandage off his slash.

"Woah," she said in awe at the cut. What was she thinking? She should be feeling sorry, but it really _did_ look cool!

"Wanna touch it?" Without warning and before she could object, Cheng grabbed her paw and placed it against his slashed cheek.

"Woah," she said again in just as much awe, blushing at the fact that her hand was currently on a boy's cheek.

"Wanna see something else cool?" Lotus asked him. Cheng nodded, wondering what it was that she could possibly have that was cool since she didn't have any scars and wasn't holding anything.

Green flashed and he fell over backwards at the sight of a huge black and white dragon with orange spots standing right in front of him. He must not have seen Flame and Guiren flying around, or the fact that there was a panda who could change into a dragon at will—who had passed the ability down to his son and daughter.

"But—but dragons are only fairy tales!"

Po laughed to himself, recalling what he'd said to the guard in the Forbidden Zone.

 _"There's a difference between legends and fairy tales."_

 _"Oh yeah? What's that?"_

 _"Legends are real."_

A splitting roar burst in the far off distance and Po grinned.

The legend was only just beginning.


End file.
